


Red

by halfbloodhood



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Draco Malfoy In Love, Draco Malfoy is Clueless About Muggle Things, Eventual Romance, Eventual relationship, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, Gryffindor, Gryffindor Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Freeform, Prophecy, Romance, Teen Romance, Wizarding World
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 15:43:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13034307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfbloodhood/pseuds/halfbloodhood
Summary: Because of his family reputation, Draco Malfoy never expects to be sorted into Gryffindor house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After being shunned and forgotten by his former Slytherin friends, Draco makes friendships with students he could never imagine in a million years.Dolores Jane Umbridge has come to Hogwarts this year, and after Cedric Diggory's death, students are convinced that You-Know-Who is back. Read the adventure of Draco Malfoy and his friends as they face secrets, lies, teenage love and drama, and the Wizarding World's most evil villains.contains: astronomy towers, unsent letters, muggle music, dancing at midnight, && second chances





	1. Hogwarts

DRACO MALFOY HAD dreamt of his first day at Hogwarts his entire life. The boy unfortunately had been an only child for the past eleven years, which is why he was ecstatic to finally make some new friends and be constantly surrounded by young witches and wizards his own age. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were blibbering idiots, if Draco could be quite honest, and their company became boring to Draco easily. However, he was happy to experience the next seven years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his best friend, Seraphina Slughorn.

The two children had grown up together their entire lives. Seraphina was a daring young witch who seemed to get herself into trouble wherever the kids went. Christmases with the Malfoy and Slughorn families typically consisted of the adults scolding their children when Draco and Seraphina got into trouble, pranking the garden gnomes outside Malfoy Manor, scaring the muggle children out near the village by the Slughorn home, and giving the house elves outrageous orders.

Draco and Sera knew they would be sorted into the Slytherin house at Hogwarts when the time came. Both children came from honorable pureblood families, whose past family members were all students of Slytherin. Therefore, worrying about not being in the same house together wasn't an issue for the pair.

On September 1st, 1991, Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy said goodbye to their son on Platform 9 3/4. Draco, dressed in pressed black slacks and a formal button-up dress shirt, blonde hair slicked back perfectly, stood before his parents. Narcissa Malfoy smiled down at her boy and leaned down, straightening out the lapels of his shirt as her husband stood quietly, looking around the platform as families kissed, hugged, and wished their children farewell.

"Now, you behave, Draco. You and Sera." Mrs. Malfoy mumbled, taking her son's face into her hands. Draco was usually a wonderful child, but being friends with Seraphina Slughorn had disrupted him.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Draco and I are always well-behaved," came the voice of the trouble-making little girl. Seraphina and her family were standing just a few feet away. She hugged her mother and father goodbye, and gave her grandfather Horace a kiss on the cheek. "Aren't we, Draco?" Sera grinned and turned to face her best friend.

The eleven year old boy smirked and tugged his leather bag up his arm. "Well, I certainly am. You, though? You'll be expelled from Hogwarts within the first day of even being there." Draco bit back playfully.

Lucius Malfoy cleared his throat, and Draco turned his attention to his father. "Write to us soon. No fooling around. I don't want to get an owl from the headmaster hearing the two of you have been expelled." His voice was hard and serious, and Draco nodded quickly.

"Yes, father."

The Hogwarts Express gave a shrill blow of its whistle. Thick clouds of steam billowed from its smoke stack, and students began boarding the train at a quicker rate. "Come on, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle said they would save us a seat in a compartment!" Sera smiled and tugged on Draco's arm. Draco gave his parents a polite smile—more to his mother, since his father never really appreciated displays of affection—and turned, heading for the scarlet red train that would take them all to their new home for the year.

The Hogwarts Express was buzzing with excitement as Draco and Seraphina explored the train cars, searching for their friends. Seraphina continued to drag Draco by the arm, and then became comfortable with holding onto it loosely, enjoying the feeling of her best friend near her. At eleven years old, Draco felt nothing but sibling love for his best friend, and he had assumed the feeling was mutual between him and Sera. Sera, on the other hand, had immense feelings for the boy, and was always excited to be near him.

As the two children passed by a nearly empty compartment, Draco noticed a boy with black hair and glasses, staring out the window. "Who's that?" Draco asked quizzically, stopping outside of the compartment. Seraphina stopped next to him and eyed the new boy. "I've never seen him before. But look at his trainers... He must be a mudblood." Sera whispered and began walking again, tugging Draco along after her.

Draco had heard many rumors about Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts this year, and he secretly wondered if the boy they had seen sitting alone had been him. Harry Potter was one of the most talked about wizards in Draco's generation. The other was Lord Voldemort, the most terrifying wizard alive. Things have been mostly quiet now in the wizarding world, and they have been for the past decade. Many people had assumed that You-Know-Who was gone for good, while others were extremely positive that the menacing wizard was only taking a break from inflicting terror upon witches and wizards everywhere.

Seraphina and Draco eventually found Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle near the back of the train, and the two boys greeted their friends once they stepped into the train compartment.

"Can you believe it, Draco? Hogwarts! We finally get to go to Hogwarts!" Crabbe exclaimed, smiling as he held his new wand in his hands. The new students had recently purchased their wands in Diagon Alley from Olivander's Wand Shop, and none of them seemed to be able to put them down.

"My father said that this year will be a rather interesting one. Did you hear? Harry Potter is rumored to be attending Hogwarts." Draco smirked and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Harry Potter? He's just about a celebrity!" Seraphina chirped up as her eyes went wide. "I bet you he'll be in Slytherin like us. He survived You-Know-Who, he's got to be good enough to be in Slytherin..."

"Or not. How embarrassing would it be if he was sorted into Hufflepuff?" Gregory Goyle scoffed and munched on a Chocolate Frog his parents packed him for the trip.

And that's how the ride to Hogwarts went; the four purebloods droned on and on and on about the possibilities of becoming Harry Potter's friend. They discussed which classes they were looking forward to taking, and which teacher's they heard were excellent, as well as the ones they were to steer clear from.

•••

Hogwarts was a scene straight out of a muggle movie. A dozen towers rose elegantly into the night sky, stone-grey, and some with stained glass windows showing off massive spiral staircases. The castle emitted a warm glow, and the Great Hall stood proudly, beckoning the student's new and old to attend the welcoming feast. Draco's mind was reeling with multiple emotions—surprise, excitement, nervousness—as he sat with his closest friends in the small row boats that propelled every single first year across the Black Lake toward the grand castle.

Once Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, arrived at the docks with the group of new first years, the bunch made their way up to the castle. Draco and Seraphina, along with the rest of the children, had wide eyes wherever they looked. Statues decorated the school grounds while ghosts of founders and students past greeted them welcomingly.

The first years were told to wait on a wide set of stairs in front of the doors to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.

"Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Professor Minerva McGonagall spoke, glancing around at the new group of students. Draco Malfoy's lips twitched up in a smile as he looked at Seraphina. Slytherin. "Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will loose points. At the end of the year, the houses with the most points is awarded the house cup."

A boy with huge teeth had now pushed his way up the staircase and was lunging for the professor's feet. "Trevor!" Minerva McGonagall glared at Neville Longbottom as he reached for his toad which would not stop escaping the boy's grasp. "Sorry." Neville mumbled quietly, stepping back into the ranks of his fellow first years.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." Professor McGonagall told the bunch, and then walked away.

Seraphina had recognized the boy from the train—the boy with the odd set of trainers. She nudged Draco quickly and nodded in the direction of the raven-haired boy. And that's when the rumors seemed to be proved true.

"It's true then, what they're saying on the train." Draco spoke up loudly, smirking. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." The group of students gasped, and Neville Longbottom could be heard exclaiming the boy's name. Harry Potter's cheeks reddened as he glanced around; Draco knew it was him. The lightning bolt scar on his forehead was evident for everyone to see.

"This is Sera Slughorn, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle." Draco motioned towards his three friends. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." A red-headed boy, Ronald Weasley, chuckled under his breath.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." Ron's face fell instantly at Draco's words, and Harry seemed to be thinking about what Draco had said. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to making friends with the wrong sort. Sera and I can help you there." Stretching out his hand, Draco waited for Harry Potter to take it. But, the Boy Who Lived did not.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for my self, thanks." Harry told Draco firmly, looking him in the eye. Never had anyone ever turned Draco down before. Seraphina took Draco's outstretched hand and lowered it, snickering as everyone's attention was turned back to McGonagall who had now reappeared at the front of the staircase.

•••

"Susan Bones."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Hermione Granger."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Ronald Weasley."

"Ha! Another Weasley. I know just what to do with you... GRYFFINDOR!"

"Ainsley Gregorwich."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Harry Potter."

"...GRYFFINDOR!"

The Sorting Hat had gotten through the majority of the new first years, including Harry Potter and the Weasley boy. Draco was extremely anxious to be called up by Professor McGonagall, even through he knew the Sorting Hat would tell him he was in Slytherin. Next up, McGonagall called his best friend to the front. Seraphina Slughorn strode confidently to the chair in which she then sat. Before the Sorting Hat could even touch the girl's head, it roared loudly, "SLYTHERIN!" Draco and Sera grinned at one another as the Slytherin table clapped and congratulated another one of their new students.

"Lauren Andrews."

Draco Malfoy had never heard the name before, which is one of the reasons why he turned one hundred percent of his attention to the girl walking toward the front of the Great Hall. And his heart completely stopped. He had instantly fallen in love. At least, that's what he thought it was. It had to be love.

Lauren was a very shy looking girl with dark brown hair that fell in satisfying curls to just below her shoulders. Her warm, brown eyes glanced around the Great Hall nervously as she took a seat on the stool and waited for the Sorting Hat to decide which house she was in. It was almost as if she wasn't used to being surrounded by such beautiful, magical things. Draco assumed it was just her nerves. His palms instantly began to sweat and butterflies fluttered around in his stomach as he watched McGonagall slowly sit the Sorting Hat upon Lauren's head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hat decided after a few moments of thinking, and the Hufflepuff table roared excitedly as one more first year joined their house.

"Draco Malfoy."

Minerva McGonagall had to repeat Draco's name more than once, for he hadn't been paying attention to the rest of the Sorting Ceremony. His eyes widened once he realized he was still staring at Lauren Andrews, and then he quickly hurried up to the front of the room. When the professor set it upon his head, the Sorting Hat nearly gasped.

"Draco Malfoy... Very curious, this is. Should I put you in Slytherin, where your family and the rest of your friends reside?" The hat mumbled so quietly that Draco could barely hear it. "No, no, no. Not Slytherin. How strange, really... You're quite different, boy. So, it better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

Draco heard multiple intakes of breaths as McGonagall removed the Sorting Hat from his head. Albus Dumbledore watched him closely, as did most of the professors at the long table against the front wall of the room. Draco was mostly worried about the look Seraphina Slughorn was giving him. Sera watched Draco sadly, eyes filled with tears, and it was as if all the love and affection she held for the boy was suddenly gone. Draco could barely move. Gryffindor? He thought to himself. How is this even possible?

"Mr. Malfoy. Please take a seat at your house table." Professor McGonagall whispered to him quietly, urging him to move away from the front of the room so that they could continue with the Sorting Ceremony.

Draco's legs felt like bags of lead as he made his way over to the Gryffindor table. He sat down in the only spot available at the moment, right next to Hermione Granger, and across from Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

The room was still buzzing quietly with chatter as students discussed Draco and his Hogwarts house for the next seven years. Surely a Malfoy didn't belong anywhere except Slytherin? How would Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy react when they found out which house their only child was sorted into? And what about Seraphina? Draco thought that his best friend would never speak to him ever again because of this—Draco and Seraphina absolutely despised witches and wizards of lower class, importance, and impure blood status.

And as students stared, glared, and eyed him up, Draco realized that his life here at Hogwarts was about to be turned into a living hell.


	2. First Impressions

AFTER THE FEAST, all of the students in the Great Hall were sent off to bed by Professor Dumbledore, and were all told to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, they would have their first day of classes. Draco would have been excited if he were sorted into the Slytherin house.

It was just in Draco's luck when he found out who he would be sharing a dorm with for the next seven years.

When he arrived to the Gryffindor common room, the male prefect, who was coincidentally also a Weasley, showed the group of first year boys to their dormitories. Draco's dorm was draped in dark shades of red. Five beds made up the circle of the room, and a heater was placed dead in the center, creating a warm glow and making the room rather toasty; too warm for Draco's liking. Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Seamus Finnigan entered the room after Draco, and Draco could feel his heart drop into his stomach. Neither of the four boys made eye contact with Draco as they went to discover where their trunks were situated, and then they began to argue about who got which bed. In the end, Draco was left with the bed nearest to the larger window of the room—of course he would have to suffer the coldness at night the most.

Unfortunately, no one had bothered to wake Draco up the next morning. When he eventually did, though, the four boys whom which he shared his room with were no where to be seen. Stumbling out of bed, Draco rushed to get ready for the day, pulling on his pants. tucking in his shirt, throwing on his vest and robes. He nearly forgot to make sure to put his socks and shoes on.

Not only was Draco running late for breakfast, but he also had gotten lost on his way to the Great Hall. And when asking one of the ghosts that roamed the corridors at Hogwarts, he was laughed at, and the ghost named Peeves had fun playing jokes on the young Gryffindor.

By the time Draco arrived at the Great Hall, students were already leaving to head to their first classes. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter sat at the Gryffindor table with small smirks when they watched Draco enter the hall.

"What the hell was that for? You couldn't have woken me up?" Draco snapped once he made his way to the table, standing directly where Ron and Harry sat. Ron shrugged and finished his last bite of his toast. "You're real foul gits, you know that? Now Professor McGonagall will have my head for being late getting up! And it's only the first day!" He was furious with the way his classmates were treating him, and they haven't even began their first classes yet!

Harry seemed to hesitate before opening his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Draco was turning away sharply. He felt his body slam into something hard, knocking the wind out of him as he went stumbling back. A girl could be heard grunting, and then a bag was falling, books flying everywhere.

Lauren Andrews hadn't been paying attention when she bumped into Draco in the Great Hall. She had been having an absolutely dreadful morning, first waking up later than she wanted to, then forgetting where she put her wand, then spilling pumpkin juice into her bag, ruining her parchment. Luckily, Professor Sprout was able to scourgify the liquid from all of the contents in her bag, leaving Lauren with only a few stains here and there.

Now, Lauren was sat on her behind on the floor between two of the tables in the hall. Her eyes widened when she realized she had bumped into a boy, not to mention and incredibly handsome one. "I-I'm sorry!" She mumbled quickly and found herself getting on her knees, going to collect all of her belongings off the floor.

"I—No, no, it's my fault." Draco hurried, bending down and picking up some of Lauren's textbooks. The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyillida Spore. Draco noticed the familiar sweating of his palms and mentally cursed himself for getting so nervous around this girl. Lauren Andrews.

Draco hadn't noticed that he was just standing there with the four textbooks in his arms, staring at Lauren. The girl was now standing upright, waiting impatiently for Draco to hand over her textbooks. Lauren had to clear her throat for Draco to snap out of his little trance.

"Thank you... But I do believe I'll be needing those." Lauren mumbled and bit the inside of her cheek to suppress the laugh trying to escape her lips.

Draco's face went red and he nodded quickly, dumping the textbooks into Lauren's bag. "Oh. Yes, right." He said before smoothing out his robes. And because he didn't know what else to say, because he was afraid of embarrassing himself any further, he turned one again on his heel, and made a beeline for the exit of the Great Hall.

•••

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic."

Severus Snape was one of the most intimidating men Draco (and the rest of the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) had ever seen. He was tall, with long, greasy, black hair. His face was also elongated, and his dark eyes watched you with complete disgust and criticism. The black robes that he wore seemed to suit him completely.

"I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses..." Professor Snape slowly paced in front of his dark classroom with his hands tightly clasped behind his back. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of idiots as I usually have to teach."

There were two types of students sitting in the dungeon-like classroom today. First, Seraphina Slughorn, dressed in her black and green Slytherin robes, leaning over her new notebook, pressing her beautiful quill into the parchment boredly. Second, Hermione Granger, one of the mudbloods from Draco's house, sitting with wide eyes and her textbook open, taking in all of this new information like a sponge.

"Can anyone please tell me what I would get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape asked suddenly, and two hands shot up instantly. Hermione Granger's, and to Draco's surprise, Seraphina's, who hadn't been paying attention to the teacher prior to the question asked.

Of course, Draco thought to himself. Sera is a brainiac when it comes to things like this. After all, her grandfather is Horace Slughorn.

"Mr. Potter. Our new celebrity. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Professor Snape repeated. Harry's face dropped as he looked around the room cluelessly.

"I don't know, sir."

Snape raised his eyebrows. "Well. Fame clearly isn't everything, is it? Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Once again, Harry shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, professor."

"Thought it wasn't a good idea to open a book before coming, hm, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked rhetorically before carrying on with his questioning. "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Through Snape's entire oral pop-quiz, Draco had been annoyed. Draco didn't even know the answer to this questions, and he came from a pureblood family. Before Harry could open his mouth to speak, Draco sat up and opened his own.

"Can't you see he doesn't know any of this, Professor?" Draco asked, irritated. "He's gone his entire life, no doubt, not knowing his parents were witches and wizards. Harry Potter has no idea what any of this stuff m—"

"—Twenty points from Gryffindor for speaking out of line, Mr. Malfoy." Snape nearly growled, whipping around to stare at Draco. Noises erupted from across the room at the professor's comment. The Gryffindors let out small groans and sighs of disapproval, while the Slytherins snickered and giggled quietly.

Draco's mouth dropped and he began to shake his head in disbelief. "Twenty points? Professor, I do apologize, but you're being incredibly—"

"—Better make it fifty, Malfoy. One more word, and I'll personally contact your parents myself. I bet they'd be absolutely delighted to know that their boy thinks nothing of talking back to his teachers. I do believe, though, that they'd love to hear from me that he was also sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin, like the rest of his family." Draco, once again, felt his heart pound a little bit faster than usual. He was dreading the moment when he had to owl his parents about how school was going, which house he was sorted into...

"Draco. It's okay. Just leave it." Harry mumbled from down the table, a few students away. Draco glanced at Harry and awkwardly nodded before shutting his mouth completely.

"Good. That's what I thought." Snape drawled lowly, and began walking around to his desk. "Now, for your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." Once Snape arrived at his desk, he turned around to face the class, who were all staring dumbly back at him. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

•••

Lauren Andrews was incredibly upset that she hadn't known she was a witch prior to getting her Hogwarts letter in July. Hogwarts had proven to be an absolutely enchanting school, and as Lauren attended each of her lessons for the day, she realized just how boring the muggle life—her life—actually was. Potions seemed like it would be a fun class to take, and she came to the conclusion that it would be the muggle equivalency of a chemistry class. Charms with Professor Flitwick also deemed to be a highly amusing class. Flitwick allowed his class of first years to try out using their wands for the very first time, and Lauren had to keep reminding herself that she was in fact not stuck in a wonderful dream.

After lunch in the Great Hall, Lauren and Susan Bones, a girl in her house whom she also shared a dorm with, made their way across the school to the greenhouses. There, they met with their Head of House for their first Herbology class. When Lauren arrived, she noticed a few familiar faces, students who were in Gryffindor. She silently wished that Draco Malfoy would not be there, but was let down when she noticed the unmistakable head of blonde hair.

Draco was absolutely miserable. After talking back to Professor Snape, the professor had settled on taking away fifty points from Gryffindor, which then caused multiple children in the house to bother Draco about his actions.

"I was only defending Potter!" He had shouted, now trying to defend himself.

"Slither back to your hole, snake—where you belong," mumbled a child as they were all exiting the potions room. It was Ron Weasley, and before Draco could come up with a comeback, him and Harry quickly walked away.

Now, Draco found himself standing alone in the greenhouse, secluded from his fellow Gryffindors and the other Hufflepuff students. Professor Sprout was going over the requirements of the class and which equipment they should have already picked up in Diagon Alley before they arrived at school for the year. Dragon-hide gloves, parchment, fresh quills, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi...

"Mr. Malfoy, is it?" Pomona Spout questioned suddenly, and Draco's eyes widened considerably. He nodded slowly, standing up straighter as the students around him turned to look at him. "Why don't you step closer, dear boy? There's plenty of room! Ms. Granger, make room for Mr. Malfoy." Professor Sprout told the bushy-haired first year.

Hermione reluctantly inched her way to the left, giving more room for Draco to get closer to the class. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter glared at the blonde boy when he joined his class, and then Professor Sprout carried on with her discussion. Draco remained quiet throughout the class period.

Eventually, he noticed Hermione Granger turn to look at him. "You know, I think it was really nice. I mean, what you did in potions today for Harry." Hermione whispered to Draco, and the boy glanced at her warily. He was surprised that a girl like Granger, whom he knew to be a mudblood, was talking to him. Praising him, really. The entire day, Draco felt as if he were some terrible villain. However, it seemed as if Hermione Granger didn't believe so.

"It was nothing, really. Professor Snape was really getting on my nerves. I've known I was a wizard all my life, and I didn't even understand what he was asking." Draco mumbled in reply, eyeing Granger as he tried to keep his voice down.

"Really? Both of my parents are muggles, and I knew the answers to those questions!" Hermione giggled and grinned at her classmate. Draco glared and shook his head. He couldn't believe he was actually having a conversation with an annoying mudblood—he was socializing with the enemy!

"Now, for homework, I want you all to read over the first chapter of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi." Professor Spout clapped her hands together and smiled at the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors in front of her. "We will be going over how to use your equipment and all of the safety procedures when I see you next. Now, out of my greenhouse!"


	3. Dancing With Trolls

DRACO MALFOY'S LIFE at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was absolutely dreadful. Not only did his old acquaintances of the Slytherin house both ignore and bully him, but his own housemates made his time as a Gryffindor extremely unbearable. Fred and George Weasley, the twins of the Weasley family, enjoyed playing outrageous pranks on Draco. One day, when Draco went to grab a quick shower, Fred and George sabotaged Draco's soaps. After drying off and getting changed for the school day, Draco realized that his hair had turned a horrid neon-green. Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas teased him all morning, and Draco had embarrassingly sprinted to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey then proceeded to spend two hours trying to return Draco's hair to his natural blonde color because "these Weasley's are always bloody magnificent at pranking charms..."

Potions class with Professor Snape progressively made Draco more and more miserable. It seemed as if Harry Potter was not Severus Snape's only punching bag—classes were spent with Snape asking Draco multiple questions, catching him off-guard with concepts that the class had never even spoken about before. Of course, Hermione Granger always seemed to be raising her hand to answer them—Professor Snape never bothered to let her.

Herbology had become Draco's favorite class so far this year. The Gryffindor students continued to leave the boy out, but Professor Sprout was always encouraging her own Hufflepuff students to include Draco in their group work. Lauren Andrews had become a regular partner of Draco's when taking notes and discovering new plant species in class.

Secretly, Draco was still head-over-heels for Lauren. Yet, he knew absolutely nothing about the girl. She was very intelligent, Draco was aware of that, but what else? Who were her parents? Did they work at the Ministry with Mr. Malfoy? Where did she live? When was her birthday, what was her favorite color? Draco often found himself listening in on her conversations with her Hufflepuff friends during classes, and he usually walked behind her in the corridors when arriving to, and leaving Professor Sprout's greenhouses.

•••

Everything seemed to change for Draco on the night of the 31st of October, 1991.

Halloween was always a very celebrated event at Hogwarts—especially for the ghosts who roamed the castle. The Great Hall was covered in dozens of beautifully carved pumpkins, streamers of black, orange, and purple, and the sky of the room was cloudy and eerie, a full-moon on display for each student. The Halloween Feast had every student jumping out of their seats; in addition to their usual plates of vegetable roast, puddings, biscuits, chicken breasts and turkey legs, the students were given assortments of special pumpkin juices, ciders, lollipops, and goblets of colored candies and chocolates. Headmaster Dumbledore was also nice enough to give each house different sweets from Honeyduke's this year: Acid Pops, Chocolate Frogs, Bat's Blood Soup, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Fizzing Whizzbees, Nougat Chunks, and Draco's favorite, Pink Coconut Ice.

As Draco was about to enter the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast, he noticed Pavarti Patil and Lavender Brown, two girls from his house, speaking quickly together. Nearby stood Lauren Andrews; she had her hair up in two French braids, and Draco felt his heart begin to beat just a bit faster.

"It's Hermione, Lav... I found her crying in the girls' bathroom." Pavarti told her friend, frowning. "I think it's because of Ron Weasley again. He's always making fun of her, telling her that she's got no friends..."

Lauren was angry. She had noticed Ron Weasley in the corridors speaking badly about her friend, and Lauren wanted nothing more than to hex the boy. When Lauren had heard about Hermione crying in the bathroom, she took off, leaving the Great Hall and making her way to find her friend...

About fifteen minutes into the Halloween Feast, Draco Malfoy was just about falling asleep. He was pretty much sitting all alone, even though he had dozens of children sitting all around him. Multiple times, Seraphina Slughorn and him made eye contact across their tables. Each time, though, Sera would glare at the boy sadly before turning her attention back to Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe. Draco had been unable to make friends during these past two months, and no matter how much he begged his parents to bring him home, they continued to ignore his wishes. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy hadn't been answering Draco's owls, and he was convinced that they wanted nothing to do with him anymore because of his sorting into the Gryffindor House.

The doors of the Hall swung open suddenly, and the stuttering Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Quirinus Quirrell, came sprinting down the middle walkway, breathing heavily.

"T-T-T-TROLL! TROLL IN TH-THE D-D-D-DUNGEONS!" Professor Quirrell stammered loudly, instantly silencing the students and professors in the room. "J-Just thought y-you ought-t-t to kn-know."

An uproar. Students began speaking animatedly, but all silenced when Albus Dumbledore called attention to the head of the Great Hall. "Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" The man ordered.

Percy Weasley, a prefect of Gryffindor, stood up from the table, and instantly took action.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

As Draco and the rest of the Gryffindor first years exited the Great Hall, he came to realize that Hermione Granger and Lauren Andrews had no idea about the troll wandering around the corridors of the school. They had absolutely no clue what to expect. Draco, suddenly feeling extremely macho, slithered away from his group of students and took off in the opposite direction.

Incendio. Diffindo. Flipendo. Draco quickly searched through the very few spells he had been taught already, and the ones he only vaguely read about. Surely if he was going to fight off this troll and hopefully save Hermione and Lauren, he would have to know how to defend himself... Wingardium Levisoa. Lumos. Nox. Colloportus.

Draco heard terrible wails and screams coming from the girls' bathroom as he inched his way towards it, wand held tightly in his hand. As he turned a corner, he saw the gigantic beast slowly dragging itself into the bathroom. It was absolutely immense, and Draco felt his stomach drop as he realized that this may be the worst idea he has ever acted upon. His legs felt like jelly, and he honestly thought about turning away, about letting a teacher handle this...

No, Draco told himself firmly. Lauren is in there, and so is Hermione. They've been the nicest people to me all year...

Suddenly, the sound of sinks breaking and shattering could be heard, and Draco was sprinting down the corridor and into the bathroom. Hermione Granger and Lauren Andrews were huddled together under one of the sinks, pressed up against the corner of the bathroom. Tears streamed down their faces as the witches feared the troll who continued to bash and smash toilets, mirrors, stalls and walls with its heavy wooden club.

"Hey, you!" Draco roared, pointing his wand at the troll. Lauren and Hermione's eyes widened as they realized someone had actually come to save them. And it was Draco Malfoy!

"Draco, what are you doing—"

"—Hermione?! Hermione, we've come to save you!" Lauren was cut off by the voices of Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. Draco whipped around quickly and gasped when the two boys came barreling through the doorway, wands out and ready to defend themselves. "I knew it! It was Malfoy, he's set a bloody troll loose in the castle!"

"Me?! Are you mad, Weasley?" Draco began, and all five children let out a scream when the troll started making its way toward Draco, Ron, and Harry. The distraction allowed Lauren and Hermione to squeeze their way out from under the busted-up sinks, and the two girls went running in the opposite direction of the troll. It was absolutely chaotic in the bathroom. Water from the sinks was spraying each and every way. The robes of the students were completely soaked, and Lauren Andrews had a large gash across her cheek—most likely from the sinks exploding here and there.

Draco turned toward Ronald. "Distract him, Ron. The bloody beast is going to kill us if we don't do anything!" He shouted nervously. Ron gripped his wand tightly before taking a deep breath and running past the troll's legs, disappearing right under it's gaze.

"Oi, pea-brain!" exclaimed Ron, now behind the troll. After looking around for a few quick moments, he picked up a heavy piece of porcelain broken off of one of the sinks, and chucked it. The troll let out a pained yelp as it was hit in its side by the piece of sharp porcelain. With its attention diverted, Lauren and Hermione were able to run past the troll, back to Harry and Ron.

"Ron!" Harry shouted, but everything was happening way too fast; the troll had closed in on Ron Weasley and picked him up roughly, making his drop his wand. Draco dashed forward and kicked Ron's wand to Harry so that it wasn't destroyed in the violence. With Hermione and Lauren watching frightfully, Draco knew he had to do something heroic.

"Hold on, Ron!" Draco yelled out quickly. He picked up a sharp piece of metal pipe off the floor and braced himself before running forward once more and hitting the troll in the back of his left leg. It let out another loud roar before dropping Ron on the floor. Ron then ran back toward the rest of the children, awkwardly clutching his knee while doing so. Draco was hit with a blow to his stomach and was thrown back across the bathroom as Lauren raised her wand, gave it a swish and a flick, and said, very clearly, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The troll's wooden club was yanked out of its hand by magic, thrown up high over its head, and then dropped down forcefully on the top of its head. It stopped, swayed slightly for a few moments, and then fell face-first onto the floor of the bathroom. It was quite for a few moments as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lauren, and Draco stared at the unconscious troll in front of them. Harry looked at Draco with grateful eyes, and Ron met Draco with a small smile. Then, Hermione Granger bent down next to him and gave the blonde boy a bone-crushing hug, face wet with tears. Lauren joined her, helping Draco into a sitting position. For the first time in two months, Draco felt appreciated. He had a feeling things were going to get much, much better from now on.

•••

After the incident in the dungeons with the troll, Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had become the greatest of friends. Ron and Harry, who previously teased and berated the boy, were now extremely thankful for him. Draco did help save all of their lives, after all. They learned that it was not Draco who let the troll loose in the castle, but Professor Quirrell, who had actually partially been He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. As tension rose in the castle that year, Draco stuck by the trio. He finally found his own place and friends. Draco spent the summers in between school years with the Weasley family. Molly Weasley had taken a particular liking to Draco, and even encouraged the boy to call her 'Mum.' Draco liked that idea very much.

All of this was because of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. After hearing about Draco being sorted into Gryffindor, they ignored their son's owls, and after that Halloween night of his first year, they decided that Draco could not be their son. Little was exchanged between the Malfoy's and their son, and it broke Draco's heart more and more each day. He was extremely grateful to have Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, though. Arthur would show Draco his collection of misused muggle artifacts, and in the summers and during their breaks, Draco would help him take them apart and put them all back together again. Blood purity meant nothing to Draco anymore—his best friend Hermione was a muggleborn, as was the girl he was in love with.

In their second year, the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and Ginny Weasley, the only Weasley daughter, had been threatened by Tom Riddle. And when Hermione Granger was petrified by the Basilisk living in the castle, Draco stood by his friends. He put up with the teasing of the Slytherin house throughout this year and the accusations of Draco opening the Chamber of Secrets (which were, of course, made by the Slytherins, as well). Draco's Gryffindor friends knew that he was entirely innocent, though; his housemates loved Draco deeply.

Their third year was no different; a werewolf of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Dementors, and Time-Turners consisted of this school year. Draco was convinced that every year was just going to get worse and worse for him and his best friends. Even though times were hard for everyone, Draco was excited for a few things. Firstly, he was able to travel to Hogsmeade, which is something him and his friends did every single Saturday. Ron, Harry (who was always concealed under his Invisibility Cloak), and him would venture to The Three Broomsticks in the snow, while Hermione and Lauren would follow behind. Secondly, Draco's third year was also his first year on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, where he played as a chaser (the best on his team!).

The Triwizard Tournament was hosted by Hogwarts during Draco's fourth year. Unfortunately, though, Draco was still fourteen years old, and could not enter; the Ministry made it very clear that no child under the age of seventeen was allowed to slip their names into the Goblet of Fire. Somehow, though, Harry Potter had become the Hogwarts Triwizard Champion, along with Cedric Diggory. Professor Mad-Eye Moody, ex-Auror, had come to Hogwarts this year, but it was later found out that he wasn't Mad-Eye Moody at all; once again, the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was cursed as Barty Crouch, Jr. had turned the Triwizard Cup into a portkey, transporting Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory to a terrible place. This was the year that You-Know-Who came back.

Draco hopes that things will change, now, for him and his friends. He hopes that this year, his fifth year, he can finally build up the courage to confess his feelings to Lauren. He hopes that him and his classmates may be able to have a normal DADA professor. All five of them, Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Lauren wish that this year will finally be normal for Hogwarts.

Although, it is extremely unfortunate when Molly Weasley informs her children, Hermione, and Draco that they will be spending the summer somewhere new, this year. As Draco packed his trunk for 12 Grimmauld Place, he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that this year was going to be no different than the previous ones.


	4. Grimmauld Place

**"CROOKSHANKS! LEAVE MR.** KREACHER ALONE, RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Hermione Granger's voice rang throughout the house as she scolded her mischievous cat. Her feet pounded along the wooden floors above Draco's head, and moments later, crashing noises of fine China falling and breaking filled his ears.

_"Filthy feline! Contaminated by the wretched Mudblood! Oh, don't he dare injure Kreacher..."_

          Crookshanks let out a loud squeal, and Draco could only assume that the house-elf had fought back and defended itself from the cat's terrible, teasing actions; either that, or Hermione had forcefully caught him by the tail.

          "Oi, control that bloody bugger, will you, Hermione?" Ron shouted, his voice muffled from underneath his pillow. "Some people are trying to sleep, here!" Ron tugged the pillow tighter over his head as he kicked his legs out, splaying them widely across the bed. Draco, who was next to him, let out a grunt and kicked him hard.

          "Blimey, Draco, if my sleeping habits bother you that much then,"shove,  _"—bloody,"_ shove,  _"—MOVE!"_ Ron argued. "There's a perfectly done-up bed right over there, idiot."

          Draco shot up from his place in bed next to Ron and picked up his pillow, hitting his best friend over the back with it. "I've said it a billion times and I'll say it once more:  _I don't like sleeping next to the window."_

          "Well then that's a damn shame, Malfoy! I'm not giving up my bed." Ron was sitting up now, too, kicking away from Draco who was still delivering blow after blow.

          "It's not even  _your bed._ "

          "It's been  _my bed_ for the past two months! If you can't deal with me then go and cuddle with Hermione and Ginny. I bet they'd love another guest." Ron bit back and rolled out of bed. A few seconds of silence passed before he whipped around to face Draco again.  _"No._ Forget I said that. Do  _not_ go near my little sister."

          Then, Draco was laughing, falling out of bed when Ron gave him a shove. He landed on the floor with a painful  _thump,_ laughing a little harder, which triggered Mrs. Weasley's cry of reminding the boys to  _"keep your hands off each other and no rough-housing, or you'll be dealing with the doxies by yourselves!"_

          Draco could not complain about his life at 12 Grimmauld Place, this summer, although it was filled with many outrageous tasks which him, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Fred and George had to complete. The children and Mrs. Weasley would spend many hours cleaning out bedrooms, studies, and the attic, which were each infested with many annoying little pests. The doxies were the absolute worst, and Draco, unfortunately, had a nasty little scar on his finger to prove it.

          Cleaning in the mornings and afternoons made his summer here worth it, though. Each day, dozens of wizards passed through Sirius Black's home, some that Draco had seen before, and some that he had no idea existed at all. They would come early for breakfast, carry out meetings in the long dining room, have a spot of lunch later, and then depart. Draco had no idea what these meetings were entirely about, but the children were informed that it was part of a secret Order.

          The Order of the Phoenix.

          All of the children weren't allowed to tell a single word about it to Harry. Draco felt absolutely terrible about the fact; he knew how dreadful Harry always was during his summers and holidays with the Dursley's in Little Whinging. Sadly, though, they weren't even allowed to write him a letter. Molly and Arthur Weasley had strict orders from Professor Albus Dumbledore  _himself_ to not contact Harry at all over the break.

          To sum things up, though, Draco was having a grand time spending his summer at 12 Grimmauld Place with his family and friends.  _No, not Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy..._ Lucius and Narcissa had absolutely no problems with sending their only child away every summer to live with who they called the "blood-traitors"; as if being without their  _own_ blood-traitor for nine months during the school year wasn't enough. Draco was quite fine with this, though. Arthur and Molly were excellent parent figures to Draco. In fact, when he thought of his "parents," it was always Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

          "Draco, dear, how many times do I have to tell you to keep your elbows  _off_ the table when you eat?" Molly said this nearly every single day as they all sat down for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now, Draco, the Weasley's, Hermione, and Sirius were enjoying their first meal of the day.

          Ron, who was sitting across from Draco, quickly dropped both elbows from off the table, sat up a bit straighter, and awkwardly tried to continue eating his food.

          "Sorry, Molly." Draco's apology was nearly incomprehensible as he chewed on his eggs and toast. When he did not move his elbows, Molly slapped at them quickly.

 _"Off._ My children will have proper table manners. Although, I don't think there's anything I can do now for Ronnie... he's too far gone." Mrs. Weasley shook her head melancholily as she reached out, brushing some orange marmalade away from Draco's lips.

          "Mrs. Weasley, I'm afraid I'd have to agree with you. There really is nothing else we can do for  _Ronnie."_ Hermione chimed in.

          Fred and George, who were both sporting the same blue striped t-shirt, nodded their heads.  _"Oh, Ronnie-Wonnie..."_  they began singing, and when Molly wasn't looking, Ron sent the two of them an obscene hand gesture.

          Ginny rolled her eyes at her brothers' immaturity, and then turned to her mother. "Mum, did you still want us to take care of those doxies upstairs today?" She asked from her spot at the table.

          "Actually, I had another idea." Molly spoke as she began cleaning up the plates and messes from breakfast. With a flick of her wand, some of the finished plates levitated from the dining room table and began floating into the kitchen. "There are some things in Diagon Ally I'd like you children to get me—for cleaning purposes, of course!"

          This idea made everyone ecstatic. Go to Diagonal Alley? After sitting in this home for over two months doing absolutely nothing besides  _cleaning?_ Ginny was shoveling the last bits of egg and toast in her mouth as she and Ron scrambled up from the table.

          Sirius, who was sitting at the head of the table, cleared his throat and pressed his fingertips together thoughtfully. "Molly, I would suggest sending someone with them... Perhaps I could—"

          "—No. Absolutely not, Sirius." Nymphadora Tonks, Draco's cousin, had just appeared through the doorway, her hot pink hair adding just a hint of happiness to the dark, gloomily decorated dining room.

          "Tonks, no one would know it's me!" Sirius huffed and looked around the room. "Molly?"

          Mrs. Weasley sighed and paused momentarily before shaking her head. "Tonks, would you be a dear and accompany the children? Just a few stops: I need some items from Slug and Jiggers Apothecary and the Magical Menagerie."

          Tonks beamed happily at Mrs. Wealsey. "Oh, Molly, of course! This is great, I've been needing to stop at Madam Malkin's, too!" She wheeled around and knocked into a tall, dark wizard with navy blue robes. "Kingsley!" Kingsley Shacklebolt, with a smile, held onto her shoulders to steady her.

•••

          Ron, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Fred and George all met Tonks by the fireplace once they were completely prepared for their trip. Hermione held a long list of supplies, ingredients, and potions in her hand as she lifted a small coin purse across her body, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley. When they arrived in the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron, all landed gracefully—besides Tonks, of course. She quickly gathered herself up and brushed the soot and ash off of her robes before grinning. "This way, everybody! Wotcher, Tom!"

          Diagon Alley was buzzing with excitement when the seven of them stepped past the magical brick wall. Ginny instantly began pushing her way through crowds of people towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, while Fred and George instantly Disapparated, no doubt going to Gambol and Japes, their favorite joke shop. Tonks became extremely flustered as she realized she was  _already_  beginning to lose order between all of the teenagers.

          "It's alright, Tonks! Go look around some stores, Ron, Draco and I can handle ourselves." Hermione smiled at her, and Ron and Draco nodded in agreement.

          "We'll be fine, dearest cousin." Draco gently slapped Tonks on the shoulder and the three children ran off before she could try to convince them otherwise.

          Hermione led the three of them to Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. Draco always loved visiting Diagon Alley; he often spotted his close friends from Hogwarts here, and today, Dean Thomas was parading the strip of stores with his father. Hermione had to pull Ron and Draco away from Dean before the three boys had a painfully long conversation about Quidditch.

          Ron has absolutely no idea what to do once him, Draco, and Hermione made it to the Apothecary. Hermione carried the long list of potions and ingredients, but she wasn't the _real_ Potions master. Draco had snatched the list from her and quickly began scooping up bags, jars, and handfuls of African Sea Salt, beetle eye, Nettle, Moonseed, Flobberworm mucus, root of Aconite, and Jewelweed.

          "Ron, don't touch that!" Hermione hissed, and seconds later, Draco heard a faint shatter. He laughed under his breath as it reminded him of Crookshanks terrorizing the poor house-elf this morning. "You _idiot!"_ Draco then heard Ron shriek in disgust. He assumed that maybe something wretched had spilled on his friend as he paid more attention to the last ingredient he was looking for: Leaping Toadstool.

          Draco made his way to the back of the Apothecary after asking one of the shop-keepers where he could find the ingredient. This part of the shop was dim and dusty. The walls were decorated with row after row after row of shelves, hundreds of bottles and vials littering each one. It was absolute heaven for him. Draco was a  _very_ smart wizard, even though sometimes he didn't act like it. He excelled in each of his classes at school, but Potions was his favorite. After graduating in two years, he planned on coming back to Hogwarts to observe and student-teach, and soon after, become an actual Potions professor.

          "Leaping Toadstood... Leaping Toadstool...  _Here we are_." Draco stopped when he reached the corner of the room. He balanced his already-gathered ingredients in his arms before reaching forward to grab the bottle of crushed Leaping Toadstool. Before he could pick it up, though, someone else did. The hand that had pushed out in front of Draco was pale and held a black wand with a silver head of a cobra bearing its dangerous fangs. Draco's heart stopped.

          "Hello, Draco." The man drawled, and Draco could clearly hear the smirk on his face. The boy took a deep breath before turning to face him. His father looked down at his son, who was nearly his own height now. "You've grown since your mother and I have last seen you, boy."

          "Well, father, a lot can change in two months." Draco replied coldly, shifting so that he could readjust the ingredients in his arms. "What are you doing here?"

          Lucius Malfoy looked at the bottle of Leaping Toadstood before hesitantly placing it in Draco's arms. "Just passing through..." He said slowly, eyeing his son. Draco wanted to get away from him, as far away from him as possible.

          "You don't fool me, Lucius. What do you want?" Draco spat nastily. He knew it was extremely disrespectful to speak to his father that way, but it barely bothered him at all. After Narcissa and Lucius disowned him for being sorted into Gryffindor, they cut off nearly  _all_  ties with their only son. And Draco felt betrayed. What happened to a parent's unconditional love? Draco knew that Molly would love him forever, even if he killed someone. And his actual _biological parents_ , the ones who raised him for  _eleven years_ , wanted nothing to do with him.

          Lucius let out a deep, fake chuckle and shook his head. "How are you enjoying your time with the Weasley's? Oh, and that maddening little mudblood, Granger, is it?"

          Draco's face went red with anger. "Don't you  _dare_  use that disgusting word in front of me, or I swear to Merlin I'll—"

          "Draco!" Hermione's voice was loud behind him as she came running toward the back of the Apothecary. Her body hit Draco's hard as she gripped onto his arm. "Are you finished with the list? We need to leave before Ron get's into anything—oh... Hello." Her voice became drastically quite when she realized who it was she and Draco were standing next to.

          "I'm done, 'Mione." Draco nodded and glanced at her. Hermione's face was blank as she stared at Lucius Malfoy, but Draco knew that she was angry. She absolutely loathed Draco's parents for completely abandoning him after being sorted into their house at Hogwarts. Without saying anything else, Hermione started taking a few things from Draco's arms. "I've got the rest. You and Ron can just meet me at the front. I'll only be a minute."

          "Draco, are you—?" Hermione couldn't finish her question; she was extremely worried about her friend. It must had been so hard for Draco to be meeting his father here; she knew how upset both of his parents made him.

          "I'll only be a minute." Draco repeated, giving Hermione a reassuring smile. His best friend hesitated before nodding, turning around, and walking away.

          "Friendship... How sweet." Lucius smirked and turned back to Draco. "I'll see you soon, Draco. Enjoy school this year." Draco's father brushed past him and exited the Apothecary through the side entrance before disappearing into the dark ally next door.


	5. Trying it Out

IT WAS NEARLY impossible for Draco to sleep that night. After exiting the Apothecary, Draco insisted on heading right back home to 12 Grimmauld Place; it took quite some time for Tonks to herd up the children who were all adventuring around Diagon Alley in different shops and stores. Draco was almost shaking with anger after seeing his father in the dusty little corner of Slug and Jiggers, and he carried that anger with him throughout the entire day. When the sun set and Mrs. Weasley forced the children to go upstairs to sleep, Draco laid on his side of the bed, arms crossed against his chest, staring up at the ceiling. He listened to Crookshanks terrorize the house elf all night while Ron snored loudly next to him, and Draco eventually fell asleep to these sounds.

Draco, briefcase in hand, dress shirt and slacks as crisp as ever, stepped off the Hogwarts Express and onto Platform 9 3/4. The smoke and steam from the train drifted above everyone's heads as student after student spilled from the train cars, closing in on their parents waiting for them all impatiently. Draco grinned when he spotted the man and woman with pale blonde hair and gripped tightly onto his companion's hand, tugging her behind him as he made his way to his parents.

"You've grown since your mother and I have last seen you, boy," spoke Lucius smoothly, and a smile slid onto his face. Narcissa beamed as Draco stepped closer to them, and her eyes lit up happily when she noticed the mysterious girl trailing behind him nervously.

"Look at you, Draco! You're so tall! And it's only been—"

"—A lot can change in five months," Draco interrupted his mother and flashed both of them a sheepish smile.

Narcissa sighed in defeat and nodded, reaching out and taking Draco's briefcase. "Yes, yes, of course, dear." The young girl behind Draco shifted on her feet anxiously, and Narcissa now brought her attention to her. "Draco, are you going to introduce us to your friend?" Narcissa questioned and gave her son a smile.

"Friendship... How sweet." Lucius grinned and nodded, urging his son to introduced he and his wife to the girl. Butterflies suddenly erupted in Lauren's stomach. She had never formally met Draco's mother and father before, as she considered that the one time they briefly spoke in Diagon Alley did not count. Draco stepped aside to reveal Lauren to Narcissa and Lucius.

"Very well. Mother, father... This is Lauren." The boy was grinning as he watched his girlfriend in adoration. "She's my girlfriend. Isn't she amazing?" he gushed, looking at his parents, waiting for their wanted approval.

Amazing? Lauren's heart leap at the simple yet meaningful word. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Your son—he's absolutely magnificent." Lauren blushed when she shook hands with Draco's father, and then Mrs. Malfoy was pulling the girl in for a hug.

"Call me Narcissa, sweetheart! Lucius and I are so excited to finally be meeting you! The girl Draco constantly writes about... Is it true you're the best witch in your year? And that you're a wonderful astronomy student?" Narcissa had pulled away from Lauren and now held her hands, gripping them and looking into her eyes as she sought out the answers to her curious questions.

"Mum, I told you, she's the best witch in her house." Draco corrected. Lauren gasped and looked at Draco in disbelief, which made the boy let out a laugh. "Yes, she's the best witch in our year. I've chosen a great one, haven't I?"

Lauren had to admit, she was (most likely) the best astronomy student Hogwarts has ever seen. But, she most definitely was not overall the best witch in her year; that was hands-down, Hermione Granger. Lauren just nearly got by in a few of her other classes, and she would be having Draco's head later on for him telling such an outrageous lie.

The four of them laughed together until they heard Lauren's name being shouted from down the platform. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had spotted their daughter and were beginning to make their way over to her and the Malfoy's. "That'll be my parents." Lauren stated with a small giggle. Mrs. Andrews nearly came running down the platform, tightly gripping onto her purse, feet clad in small heels, eyes buggy with the excitement of finally seeing her daughter after five months. Mr. Andrew followed his wife, looking around at the wizarding families around him. Even after four years, seeing wands, owls, robes, and other magical objects and necessities was still a shock to him.

"Oh, dear Merlin! Muggles!" Narcissa quickly began to fix her hair, trying to compose herself as she anticipated the introduction to Lauren's family. "I always love meeting muggles." She could barely hide her excitement as she greeted Lauren's mother and father.

Draco and Lauren met each other with grins, happy to see their families finally meet for the first time.

Laughter rang throughout Malfoy Manor as Lauren and Draco's parents chatted away in one of the beautiful parlors. Narcissa Malfoy ran around the room with a tray of teacups, dark purple dress flowing around her. "Sandra! You need to tell us more about your line of work; you said you're a designer?" Mrs. Malfoy grinned when she set the tray of teacups down on a nearby table. Draco and Lauren smirked from their place on the love seat together.

"I—Well, no, not exactly. Actually—Yes! I suppose I am. I knit. Handmade little things... I sell them wherever I can." Sandra Andrews twiddled her thumbs before picking up a cup from the tray. It was empty, and Draco could see that Lauren's mother was incredibly confused. Alfonso, Lauren's father, then asked about the tea.

Lucius smiled at the muggles' confusion before taking out his wand, pointing it at the cups, and silently conjuring up some tea. The teacups instantly began filling themselves up with chamomile tea, and Alfonso let out a loud roar of laughter.

"Four years and they still get a kick out of magic." Lauren whispered when she leaned toward Draco's ear. Draco tightened his arm around her waist before letting out a laugh himself.

"And what about you, Alfonso? What do you do for a living?" Lucius could be heard questioning Lauren's father. Draco thought today was going excellently. Lauren and her parents weren't even meant to come visit Malfoy Manor, but when Narcissa invited them over, Draco knew that he shouldn't be worried. His mother was always a very polite, sociable woman who constantly enjoyed being in the company of others.

"Draco." A whisper came in Draco's ear once again and chills ran up his spine, blushing as Lauren's hands intertwined with his. "Isn't this just magnificent?"

And it was. But when he woke up in the morning, Draco was pained to see that his dream, as usual, was not a reality.

•••

"Now, I want this house absolutely spotless. Do you hear me? Harry is—FRED, YOU PUT YOUR BROTHER DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Ever since Fred and George turned seventeen and the Trace was lifted from them, the trouble-making twins took way too much advantage of their wand and Apparition privileges. As Molly attempted to tell the children about Harry's upcoming arrival, Fred and George used terrible, useless hexes on each other. Now, Fred had George magically hanging from the ceiling.

"Great." Molly nodded once George was finally standing on his feet again. "Right, well. Harry is coming later on today. And I want this place spotless. Don't have your things laying all about, I want him to have a very nice first impression." She told the children nervously.

"Molly, this isn't even your house." Draco cut in, raising his eyebrows. Ginny snickered on the bed next to him and Hermione shot the two of them a look.

"It might as well be, Mr. Malfoy!" Molly whipped around to face Draco and a laughing Ginny who was now clutching onto Draco's arm with giggles. "Who does all the cleaning around here? Who takes care of Buckbeak? Who gets rid of all of those horrid little creatures hiding upstairs? I—"

"—We do, you madwoman!" Ron complained and crossed his arms across his chest, just as Hermione sighed out an incredibly annoyed "Ronald!"

Mrs. Weasley was becoming incredibly flustered. The children watched as she threw her arms up, letting out an exasperated screech. Draco could sense that Molly was stressed with everything going on in the Order, worrying about the wellbeings of her children, Harry, Hermione, and him, and with You-Know-Who coming back entirely.

"The place will be absolutely spotless, mum." George spoke from the corner of the room, now standing upright. "Don't you worry about a thing. Now run along, don't you and dear Nymphadora have a dinner to start preparing?"

The six children decided to split up their cleaning work into teams of two. Since the ground floor was currently being used for an Order meeting, the children needn't touch it. The fourth floor was also out of bounds, for it belonged to Sirius and Regulus's rooms. Fred and George took the initiative in taking care of the first floor, dusting out the bathroom and bedroom, as well as straightening up the Drawing room. Ron and Ginny claimed the second floor, doing the same as Fred and George. And, because no one else wanted to go and clean up Buckbeak's room, Hermione and Draco were forced to. Hermione had no problem with visiting Buckbeak; the children had wonderful memories with the lovely Hippogriff. It was Draco, though, that was nervous to go near the giant creature. In their third year, Draco made the stupid decision of approaching Buckbeak when the Hippogriff was not ready for him. This resulted in the creature lashing out and attacking Draco, and he had the scars to prove it.

"Hermione, please, can you hurry up?" Draco asked anxiously from inside of Buckbeak's room. After cleaning up the rest of the floor, the two of them decided to give Buckbeak another quick visit. Draco was nearly crowded against the door as Hermione carefully fed the creature, stroking his neck every now and then.

"Will you cut it out, Malfoy?" Hermione cast a glare to her friend. "I'm sure he wants company; we've been keeping him all shut up in this room for too long... He's lonely." She continued petting Buckbeak's soft feathers and smiled when he paused eating to nudge against her affectionately.

Times like this had Draco extremely confused about his feelings for his friend. Draco was now fifteen years old, which meant he was coming to terms with who he liked, who he disliked, who he thought was attractive, and whose looks he really didn't care for at all. Lauren Andrews was all he could think about, but Draco couldn't deny that Hermione was an incredibly beautiful witch. And when she was here, caring for Buckbeak, smiling and giggling as he nipped at her fingers, Draco had to admit that Hermione confused the hell out of him.

"What are you staring at?" Draco snapped out of his thoughts when Hermione spoke up, walking toward him. He instantly blushed and cleared his throat, shaking his head nervously.

"Nothing at all. Are we done here?" He asked quickly. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed Draco's hand, pulling the two of them out of the room and murmuring a quick goodbye to her feathery friend.

The sight of Draco all anxious and flustered tugged at Hermione's heart. She, unfortunately, was in the same boat as her dear old friend. After spending her whole fourth year swooning over Viktor Krum, the Triwizard Champion from Scandinavia's Durmstrang Institute, Hermione was also becoming more aware of the growing-up wizards around her. Now, even more so that they all decided to hit their growth spurts at the same exact time. Harry had all of a sudden became slightly more attractive, Ron's voice was deepening and Hermione was almost positive that he grew five inches last year, and Draco was slowly starting to become more mature in how he acted and spoke.

In the hallway, Hermione turned back toward the door, slid a key into the lock, and then proceeded to lock it so that Buckbeak would not escape. When she turned back to Draco, she gave him a smile. Draco only stood there, looking Hermione over carefully before noticing a feather stuck in her messy, brunette curls.

"Draco," Hermione laughed breathily. "Stop staring at me like that. You're making me nervous." She tucked her hair behind her ear quickly as Draco began to reach out toward her. He gently plucked Buckbeak's white feather from out of Hermione's hair and gave her a smile.

"Just a feather," he mumbled before looking down at it, laughing awkwardly. Hermione laughed, as well, but the laughter soon died down, and the two of them were stuck in silence once again.

"Well, let's just get on with it, yeah? Get it over with?" Draco's eyes widened at Hermione suggestion. Get on with it? Get it over with? Was Hermione thinking the same thing that Draco currently was?

She sighed and placed her hands on Draco's shoulders, forcing him to look into her eyes. "I know exactly what you're thinking. You want to try to kiss me. I want to try to kiss you." She said clearly, as if the situation wasn't a bother to her at all. Draco, on the other hand, felt like he was beginning to sweat.

"You do? You want to kiss me? Really?" Draco swallowed anxiously. Draco had never kissed a girl in his entire life, which made the awkward situation even worse for him. Hermione, surprisingly, did have her first kiss; Viktor Krum was an extremely smooth wizard when it came to sweeping the girls off their feet.

Hermione nodded, considering the thought of pressing her lips against Draco's. "We can try? And if we don't like it then obviously we don't have to make anything of it." Draco's head was swimming with confusing thoughts as he also considered the two of them kissing. Would he be betraying Lauren?

Of course not, you dim-witted dumbo, Draco thought to himself. Lauren doesn't even know that you're into her. You can't betray her if you two don't have anything going on...

"Alright. Yeah. Let's do it." Draco said, standing up a bit straighter and suddenly feeling more confident. He surprised the two of them when his hands went to Hermione's waist, just like he practiced in his dreams at night with Lauren. Hermione let out a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Draco's neck before nodding.

"Okay. Ready?" Hermione looked up at the much taller Draco in front of her, and Draco returned the gaze, tightening his hold on her waist and nodding. The two of them stood there, staring up and down at each other, before Hermione smacked Draco on the shoulder. "Well, shut your eyes!" She shrieked.

"You shut your eyes!" Draco countered. The two of them were finally able to compose themselves, and on the count of three, Draco and Hermione leaned in, lips puckered and ready to kiss. Just when their lips were about to touch, the teenagers leaped back, pushing away from each other and shaking their heads.

"Okay, no, no, no, this is not happening," Draco spluttered as Hermione went, "Draco Malfoy, I can't believe you were going to let us actually kiss!"

On the way back downstairs, Hermione continued to go on and on about how "stupid" Draco was for letting the two of them almost kiss.

"What if there was a spark? Draco, what if we kissed and there was a spark? How could you let that almost happen?! Do you realize how much would change between us?" These were just a few of the questions Hermione blurted out as her and Draco descended down the staircase. As they passed the second floor, Ginny and Ron were exiting the bedroom, having finished their cleaning.

"So? Did you two do it, then?" Ron asked casually, smiling as he met up with Draco and Hermione.

Their faces instantly paled, their hearts stopping. "What?" The two of them blurted out at once, thinking they were caught.

"Oh. Yes! We've done it. We've cleaned the bedroom, and bathroom, and we've fed Buckbeak. All done! Nothing else!" Hermione gushed so quickly that Ron, Ginny, and Draco could barely understand her. She was running off down the stairs to the first floor before anyone could say anything else.

"That's odd," Ron mumbled before completely redirecting his attention to the task at hand: to follow Hermione to the bedroom which he and Draco shared.

Just as Draco was about to turn into the bedroom, he heard a loud shriek.

"HARRY!"

A huge grin found its way onto Draco's face, and the boy nearly sprinted through the bedroom door. Harry Potter was being mauled by Hermione as Ron and Ginny watched with excited smiles. Harry noticed the flash of pale blonde hair enter the room, and when the two boys made eye contact, Harry grinned, as well. Draco was still terribly afraid that Harry would hate his friends for ignoring his owls all summer, but none of that mattered right now. They could all sort out that mess later on.

For now, Draco was ecstatic; he had never been happier to see his best friend.


	6. Unsent Letters

"GUYS, HE'S HERE! Harry's here!" Hermione was absolutely ecstatic as she squeezed onto her friend, grinning widely. Ginny, Ron, and Draco had shuffled their way into the bedroom, and they were aware that their friend clearly was finally here. "We've all been cleaning up this filthy house, we didn't hear you arrive! Oh, Harry, how are you? Are you well? I'm sure you've just been furious with all of us; I bet you have, I know we've been useless—"

"—We swore to Dumbledore that we wouldn't say anything..." Ginny spoke up quietly, rubbing her arm awkwardly. Draco could feel the tension in the room rising; he knew for a fact that Harry would make a big deal about this miscommunication all summer. How fair was it, for the children to not contact Draco while he was away suffering at 4 Privet Drive? With the Dursley's...

"—We've got so much to tell you!" Hermione had finally let go of Harry and was running her fingers through her wild curls. "And you've got to tell us—the dementors! When we heard—and that Ministry hearing—it's just outrageous! I've looked it all up, don't you worry, they just cant expel you. The provision in the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations—"

"Blimey, Hermione, let the man breathe." Ron huffed under his breath. As Hermione finally shut herself up, the room became quiet, and everyone waited for Harry to say something. Anything. Draco himself was extremely anxious, expecting to hear Harry's familiar sassy comments.

"Listen, mate, we really wanted to tell you more about this whole situation, but we couldn't. Professor Dumbledore came here himself and told us not to. You're really not supposed to know anything about the Order, even Molly's gone crazy about it." Draco spoke quickly when the silence became too much for him. Hermione instantly whipped around, staring at Draco with a terrible glare. In that moment, Draco knew that he had messed up.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air. "Yet you mention the Order to him!" Harry stood there, looking between Hermione and Draco, confusion etched deeply into his face.

"What are you two talking about?" Harry finally questioned, and Ron instantly responded with a happy, "The Order of the Phoenix, of course! It's a secret society, for witches and wizards against You-Know-Who."

Draco could sense the anger coursing through Harry, and he let out a small sigh once he realized what was about to happen. "You've been in this little 'secret society' all summer and haven't told me a single word about it?! NOT ONE?!" Harry shouted, face reddening with frustration. Ginny frowned and looked away, trying her hardest not to get involved in the conversation. "Even Ginny?!"

"Merlin, no! Mum won't let any of us join. Especially not me; I'm just a baby, Harry." Ginny stood up, walking toward Ron, Draco, Hermione, and Harry.

"We swear, Harry. Mrs. Wealsey won't let any of us near the meetings. She always makes us stay upstairs while they're going on; we have no idea what they even discuss." Hermione spoke, calming her voice in hopes of calming Harry down, too.

"So you haven't been to any of the meetings, big deal!" Harry shouted again as Hermione wore a face of distress. "You've still been here, haven't you? You've been together, without me! I've been stuck at the Dursley's all summer, and I've handled more than you four could ever imagine. Dumbledore even knows it! Who saved the Philospher's Stone? Who got rid of Tom Riddle? Who saved you lot from the dementors? Who had to get past dragons, who had to watch him come back? Who escaped from him? God, one simple owl explaining this bloody situation would have been fantastic but no, God forbid we tell Harry anything! I suppose all of you have been having a real laugh, stuck up here together—"

Draco lunged forward and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders firmly, forcing him to look at his face. "Harry, enough! You can't get mad at us for this; we don't know why Dumbledore wanted to keep you in the dark about all of this. If we had the choice to tell you everything, then we surely would have. Just don't be thick, mate; you're here now, isn't that good enough?"

Hermione stepped forward and placed her hand on Harry's back, frowning. "We're sorry, Harry. Just try to rationalize what you're thinking... V-Voldemort has something against you, and I think that Dumbledore just wanted to protect you from getting involved with the Order." Ron's eyes widened fearfully, and Ginny let out a small gasp. Draco was amazed at the fact that Hermione forced herself to speak You-Know-Who's name; it was a huge step for her. But, now that he was officially back, Draco believed that everyone needed to stop being so terrified of speaking his name.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."

Harry left it at that after Hermione's little speech of reassurance. Draco knew, though, that their heated conversation wouldn't end here. "So? How much fun have you lot been having while I've been gone?" Harry asked quietly, sitting down on the edge of one of the beds. Just then, two loud cracks echoed throughout the room, causing Draco, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron to jump.

"Honestly, Harry, dear, it's been quite glum here at Grimmauld Place," came two voices in perfect unison. Fred and George had Apparated into the room and were now sitting on either side of Harry.

George yawned and shook his head. "Yeah, mum's got us cleaning something every second of every minute—"

"—of every hour, of every day!" Fred wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and let it hang there limply. A look of annoyance swept over Hermione's face; the twins have been using their magic, Disapparating, and Apparating every chance they get, and it honestly was starting to annoy the life out of her.

"We thought we heard your dulcet tones. Hello, Harry." George smirked, looking down at his friend.

"You shouldn't keep all that anger bottled up, boy! There might be a few people a hundred miles away who couldn't hear you."

•••

"I still don't understand why no one is allowed to tell me anything. It's unfair! You'd think by now that Mrs. Weasley would feel the need to fill me in on things, doesn't she know what I've been through?"

Harry was absolutely enraged. Not only had he been convicted of summoning the Patronus Charm after two dementors had attacked him and his terrible cousin, Dudley Dursley, but he was also at risk of being expelled from Hogwarts. Not only that; Mrs. Weasley was extremely adamant about not telling Harry a word about the Order of the Phoenix. Harry and his friends weren't to know about what the Order did, handled, and who it was entirely made up of, give or take the few wizards and witches making their way in and out of 12 Grimmauld Place for meetings. Draco knew that Dumbledore was part of the Order, along with Remus Lupin, Draco's cousin (Nymphadora Tonks), Severus Snape, Alastor Moody, Sirius Black, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, that horrible old bloke named Mundungus Fletcher who was always trying to snatch Sirius's belongings, and an intimidating Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Draco sat on the edge of the bed he regularly shared with Ron as he watched Harry pace about the room, unpacking his trunk as he went back and forth. To the dresser, to the trunk, to setting some books over on that chair, trailing back to his trunk, repeating the steps over and over again. "Mate, Molly just wants to protect us. And I support her decision for wanting to do so... We shouldn't have to worry about these things, we're kids—"

"How thick can you be?" Draco's eyes widened when his best friend raised his voice slightly. "That's exactly what they all want you to think. That's why no one is being told anything, because they want us all to believe that we have nothing to worry about." Harry stopped pacing about the room and sat himself down next to Draco, running his fingers through his difficult-to-tame black hair.

From outside the bedroom door, Hermione could be heard gasping and shushing the Weasley twins. "Be quiet, you two! Or else Mrs. Weasley will hear and then we'll definitely not be allowed out of our rooms when there're meetings..." Fred and George insisted on trying out their new gag product: Extendable Ears. The twins had encouraged Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Harry to follow them out onto the landing to try them out on the meeting downstairs. However, Draco and Harry stayed back for a few moments to speak to each other privately in the room.

"Molly briefly told us about what happened back home." Draco suddenly changed the topic, not wanting to argue with Harry. "There were really dementors? They really attacked you and your cousin?"

Harry's breathing faltered as he remembered the events that occurred just a few days before. The confrontation between Harry, Dudley, and his annoying gang of bullies, the two terrible creatures that nearly sucked the life out of them, Mrs. Figg freaking out about Mundungus Fletcher not watching out for Harry... Explaining to his aunt and uncle what had occurred, getting those letters from the Ministry...

"I don't know why it happened. It just... doesn't make sense to me." Harry mumbled and glanced at Draco. "Trust me. I've been trying to work it out in my head for days. It's all barely reasonable, though."

Draco knew all about the dementors and how they wouldn't attack innocent witches and wizards unless ordered to. They were the guards of Azkaban and were controlled by the Ministry, usually being sent out to capture rogue criminals. "What were dementors doing in Little Whinging, anyways? Surely the Ministry didn't send them out... You haven't done anything wrong."

Harry shook his head with a dry laugh. "Cedric Diggory and I were surrounded by Death Eaters and Voldemort in a mysterious graveyard during the Triwizard Tournament. And then Cedric was killed, and I claimed that Voldemort was back! In the Ministry's eyes, I have done something wrong. In their eyes, I'm a liar, a child, a know-it-all little celebrity who thinks he can get away with murder." Harry spoke so quickly that Draco nearly couldn't keep up.

"Psst! Potter, Malfoy, get your arses over here!" Ron whispered quite loudly from the hallway outside before opening the door. He had a smirk on his face as he beckoned Harry and Draco to him. "You'll want to hear this," he said, louder this time.

Out in the hallway, the children crowded around the set of Extendable Ears which Fred and George operated skillfully. Professor Severus Snape's voice could be heard talking lowly to the other members of the order, followed by a voice that Draco could recognize all too easily.

"I've spoken with Sera multiple times about what happened at the Triwizard Tournament... The poor girl is extremely shaken up about Mr. Diggory, she says that Mr. Potter is right about You-Know-Who returning. I believe her, as well," began the man. "We need to protect our children! Have Dumbledore install more security at Hogwarts, can't he do that?"

Draco's stomach dropped and anxiety spread throughout his body. "That's Seraphina's father." His voice was quiet when he spoke, careful to not cause any problems with Mrs. Weasley downstairs.

"Seraphina Slughorn?" Ginny asked, eyebrows knitting together in utter confusion. "What in Merlin's name is her father doing here? He doesn't give a damn about You-Know-Who returning—"

"—I bet he's jumping for joy." Hermione mumbled under her breath and shook her head in which Ron, Harry, Fred and George nodded in agreement.

There was no way Franklin Slughorn could possibly be in the Order of the Phoenix, Draco thought to himself. Franklin Slughorn was a terrible man, maybe even more evil than Draco's own father. Draco had grown up respecting Franklin and looking up to him, being brought up the way he and his wife had brought Sera up. Not only was Mr. Slughorn a fearful man, but he held very high authority in the Ministry with Draco's father.

"What he's saying is complete rubbish. Franklin Slughorn is probably a damn Death Eater, why can't anyone tell that he's only play games?" Draco huffed out in annoyance and ran his fingers through his hair. Before the children could hear a reply from any of the Order members downstairs, the Extendable Ears gave a forceful tug.

"Georgie, pull!" Fred cried out in a whisper, but the twins were not able to stop Hermione's cat from snatching the ears away.

•••

Nearly a month later, Draco sat in the corner of his and Ronald's shared room, letting his eyes sweep over a long roll of crinkled, worn-out parchment. Fat drops of black ink littered the paper here and there, and some words were neatly crossed out, others scribbled over in fits of rage and sadness. After spending the day packing his trunk for Hogwarts, Draco had decided to sit himself in this dark edge of his room. Here, he began to write.

 

Mother,

I̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶l̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶o̶

H̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶?̶ ̶A̶r̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶?̶

I've had so many things I've wanted to tell you. From my first year in Hogwarts up until now, many things have happened in my life, and unfortunately, I've been unable to explain. Let me start out by telling you that I did not choose to be sorted into Gryffindor. I have been told numerous times by my friends that the Sorting Hat may place you into houses that you do not necessarily wish for. I̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶G̶r̶y̶f̶f̶i̶n̶d̶o̶r̶.̶ ̶ Gryffindor chose me! For my whole life, I planned to be sorted into Slytherin with Seraphina, because you and father had been sorted there.

How do you think I felt when I was named a Gryffindor? I knew that Sera would hate me. She hasn't spoken to me since our first day at Hogwarts before the Sorting Ceremony. D̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶e̶e̶l̶s̶ t̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶u̶p̶p̶o̶s̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ r̶e̶a̶l̶i̶z̶e̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶g̶u̶s̶t̶?̶ I was absolutely terrified to write to you and father after I found out I had been sorted into Gryffindor. Did this mean I wasn't a real Malfoy? Did this mean I was a blood traitor and that I betrayed everyone I've ever known for being sorted into a house that associated with half-bloods and muggle-borns that you and father refer to as "mudbloods"?

That is the worst word anyone can ever use, and I am extremely ashamed to have ever used it myself. Hearing it now makes me absolutely cringe. My best friend, Hermione Granger is a muggle-born witch. So was Harry Potter's mother. T̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶i̶r̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶u̶g̶g̶l̶e̶-̶b̶o̶r̶n̶.̶ The girl that I love, Lauren Andrews. She's a muggle-born, as well.

I am not sure if you and father were aware of any of my grades these past four years. But, I do exceptionally well in my classes. Potions is my favorite, and I do just as well in astronomy. This year I plan on taking more classes so that I can work toward my career once I graduate from Hogwarts. Currently, I am thinking about being a potions professor. Either that, or I plan on going into something Ministry-related. Harry, Ron, and I are really looking forward to learning more about Aurors. That may be something I might want to do later on in life, as well. Lauren is also very good with her astronomy. If things work out for the two of us, we may end up as Hogwarts professors together one day. I̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶a̶l̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶.

Why haven't you or fathered bothered to write to me these past few years? Please, please understand that I never meant for any of this to happen. I promise that I am still the same Draco you and father raised. I am the same boy, I still enjoy doing the same things, a̶n̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶.̶ ̶ The only difference is that I've learned what is morally right and what is wrong. You cannot judge a person based on their blood-line. Because let me tell you, the best people in this world that I know are muggle-born and half-bloods. Please. Listen to me, and take this all into consideration.

I̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶x̶t̶r̶e̶m̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶.̶ ̶

I̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶o̶

You-Know-Who is back. Please stay safe. I miss you.

—Draco x

 

Staring down at the parchment on his desk for the tenth time, Draco raised a hand and wiped his tears away. Now, the ink on the paper was smudged with his tears, and Draco couldn't remember the last time he cried like this. It might have been about a year ago when he fell off his broom during a Quidditch match and broke his leg. He couldn't remember.

He was just about to fold up the parchment to give it to Harry's owl, Hedwig, when Draco remembered that he wasn't allowed to send and receive owls when he was staying here at 12 Grimmauld Place. Upset with anger, Draco crumpled up the letter, all the while fighting back the tears which fell from his eyes onto his pale cheeks. After setting the wad of parchment back down on the desk, Draco leaned forward with his head in his hands.

This sadness would only consume him for a short amount of time. Tomorrow, he would be home again. He would be back at Hogwarts.


	7. Close Encounters

SEPTEMBER 1ST WAS Draco's favorite day of the year. He enjoyed it even more than his birthday, and even more than any holiday spent with his friends. September 1st was the day that he and his fellow Hogwarts students could finally go back to school. Muggle children were known to cry and whine, complain and dread their first days of school, but the witches and wizards of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry did everything but those things.

Mrs. Weasley woke each of the seven children up one by one, ushering them out of their beds and downstairs to eat breakfast. At half past ten o'clock, everyone took the short trip to King's Cross Station where the Hogwarts Express sat ready for departure at Platform 9 3/4.

Both Harry and Draco seemed highly disappointed when they realized that both of their friends, Ronald and Hermione, would be unable to join them in a compartment on the train right away. Just before their summer ended, Ron and Hermione had received letters informing them that they had been chosen as the male and female prefects of Gryffindor house. Everyone suspected that Hermione would receive the title as Girl Prefect for their house, but Ron's letter and badge were an extreme shock to the entire current household of 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry and Draco were secretly furious that they themselves had not been named Boy Prefect, Harry especially.

Well, this is why Draco and his best friend currently sat alone, bored out of their minds, in a compartment. A girl with unruly dirty-blonde hair sat in the corner of the compartment, curled up in her seat with her face stuck in a new edition of The Quibbler. The sight was bewildering to Draco, for the girl sat reading the darn thing upside-down.

"Harry, Draco, let me tell you; being a prefect is amazing," came Ron Weasley's voice after a while, the door to the compartment sliding open forcefully. The blonde witch near the window slowly lowered her magazine before seeming to study Ron very closely.

"You're Ron Weasley." The girl stated with a soft, dreamy voice. Her lips curled up in a gentle smile, and Harry and Draco shot their eyes toward her in amazement. In the entire forty-five minutes they've been in this compartment, the witch had not spoken once.

Hermione Granger pushed her way past Ron through the doorway and instantly took a seat between Harry and Draco. She readjusted her black robes, and then went to straighten out the Gryffindor prefect badge on her chest. "Yes he is. And he's a complete idiot." She stated sharply, turning her head to look at Draco. "We're not yet to Hogwarts and Ron has already abused his authoritative position multiple times!"

"Have not!" The red-head countered, taking a step forward and pointing at Hermione. "She's just been under-using her's! We have this title for a reason, to enforce discipline on foul gits who step out of line!"

"Exactly!" Roared Hermione, narrowing her eyes at her friend. ""To enforce discipline on foul gits who step out of line," not innocent, terrified little first-years!"

Hearing this, Harry couldn't help but let out a sleepy laugh, staring between his two friends as they continued to bicker back and forth.

"Ron, you're not allowed to yell at and threatened children for no reason. Think about how we felt when we were younger and those mean old prefects picked on us." Draco spoke, biting his lip and trying not to chuckle like Harry. Draco had been in his fair share of trouble and could admit that he's said some mean things to kids before, but he knew that this was unfair of Ron.

Ron threw his hands up in the air, disbelieving the fact that Draco was not backing his position up. "How would you feel if I said I gave Seraphina Slughorn a hard time while using my title as prefect? Huh? What would you say about that?" He questioned after plopping down on the seat next to the blonde witch's feet. She had now set her copy of The Quibbler down in her lap and listened to the four friends' conversation quietly; Draco had almost forgotten she was there.

Draco's stomach dropped at the mention of his ex-best friend. Yes, Seraphina has betrayed him and their friendship by disowning him when he was sorted into Gryffindor, and Draco nearly hated her for that. But, the boy couldn't deny that deep down inside, he still held a very huge place for the girl in his heart. She had meant everything to him at one time in his life, and he knew he could never forget the friendship that they had.

"Well, considering the circumstances, I'd continue to encourage it. Good job, mate." Draco smirked and reached forward, holding his fist out in Ron's direction. In return, Ron did the same, giving his best friend a fist-bump.

"I honestly cannot believe you two. Harry, please tell them they're being complete idiots. Go on." Hermione encouraged, waiting for Harry to reply with something to back up her argument. But when Harry didn't reply, Hermione, Ron, and Draco looked in his direction to see that he was asleep, his head pressed against the window of the compartment. "Unbelievable," mumbled Hermione, who was shaking her head in disappointment.

"Don't worry, I bet it's just nargles. They've been known to make you do things like that... They also make your brain go all fuzzy," spoke the girl. Draco finally noticed the Butterbeer-cap necklace she wore around her neck. He looked at it questioningly, in which the witch replied with, quite quietly, "it keeps the nargles away."

Hermione, Draco, and Ron stared at her silently. Draco had seen her a few times around Hogwarts with Ginny Weasley and knew that the two girls were somewhat friends. But, he just could not remember her name.

"I'm sorry... But who are you, again?" Ron broke the silence with an awkward clearing of his throat. Hermione's eyes widened in shock, worried that the girl's feelings would become hurt at Ron's question. The blonde smiled, nonetheless.

"Oh, I can't fathom why you'd know who I am, anyways... I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm friends with your sister, Ginevra." Her voice was so light and pixie-like, it actually made Draco smile.

Loud laughter could be heard from outside of the compartment, and out of the corner of his eye, Draco noticed a group of girls walk by, clad in their black and green Slytherin robes. Long, dark hair instantly caught his attention, and Draco was hopping up from his seat frantically. "I'll be right back, need to use the loo," he spoke quickly, nearly tripping over his feet as he yanked the sliding door open and stumbled out.

Most of the students who littered the train's corridor were already dressed in their school robes, and Draco realized that he should probably change into his own pretty soon. His feet carried him quickly down the narrow corridor, trying to keep up with the four girls in front of him. Pansy Parkinson, one of his older friends before being sorted into Gryffindor, talked loudly about her trip to France's countryside over the summer while Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, and Seraphina Slughorn listened closely. The girls would gasp and 'aww' when Pansy hit interesting points of her discussion, and they complained about how lucky Pansy was for being able to travel to such a wonderful place for her summer vacation.

"Hi, Draco!" A girl in the compartment Draco was currently passing by caught his attention. Lavender Brown grinned and stood up, waving as Draco stopped short on his path down the corridor. When Lavender called out his name, the group of girls in front of him whipped around, narrowing their eyes. Draco was a deer caught in headlights. Instead of greeting his fellow Gryffindor, Draco ignored her, and kept on walking.

"S-Seraphina. Hi." Draco finally spluttered, stopping in front of Sera, Millicent, Pansy, and Daphne. Seraphina made a face, nearly a cringe, at the sound of her name coming off his lips. Dealing with Draco's sorting into Gryffindor was extremely difficult, and the event in her first year had nearly killed her. Not only had she lost the boy she was convinced she was in love with, but she also lost her best friend. At the time, Sera had many friends and acquaintances, but no one compared to Draco.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She sneered. Her three friends served Draco deadly looks of hatred as they waited for him to speak.

"I..." The boy bit his lip nervously, and all of a sudden, he had no idea why he had even followed Sera in the first place. He had nothing to say to her. And even if he did, how could he? He hadn't tried speaking to Sera in nearly three years. In his second year at Hogwarts, Draco tried as hard as he could to make amends with his old best friend. Unfortunately, Sera's forced beliefs had consumed her, making it absolutely impossible to make her see through Draco's situation.

"If you have something to say to me, then spit it out, Draco. Or else, your're just wasting my damn time." Seraphina's voice was hard and cold, and it was difficult for Draco to sense any emotion behind it.

Draco swallowed before making up his mind. "Nothing. I have nothing to say. Sorry." He mumbled and glanced down at his feet. His heart fell to the floor as the four girls cast unwanted glares in his direction before turning around and walking away.

"Blood traitor," mumbled one of them, and Draco was nearly one-hundred percent positive that it was Sera herself.

•••

Dolores Jane Umbridge was the most horrifying woman anyone at Hogwarts had ever laid their eyes on. Her short, plump figure gave Draco the chills, not to mention her terrible toad-like face. The woman was clad in every shade of pink imaginable. A furry pink sweater, with a shirt just a few shades lighter than the sweater. Then, another extremely pink skirt, stopping a little bit below her knees. Her short heels were also pink, and they clicked loudly against the floor as she stood up and made her way to the owl podium at the front of the Great Hall, nearly elbowing Professor Albus Dumbledore out of his usual spot.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance," she began, and Draco and Harry exchanged looks of disgust. "The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. Therefore, the treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be highly guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching." Dolores smiled and turned slightly, looking back at the row of professors seated at the long, rectangular table behind her.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this very historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and complete and utter decay." Professor Umbridge had only been speaking for a short time before the Great Hall erupted in slight chatter. Students from all tables, except that of which belonged to Ravenclaw (whose students watched and listened intently), whispered and muttered complaints under their breaths. Draco heard a specific giggle, one that he knew and came to recognize all too well. His eyes shot away from the woman still speaking at the front of the Great Hall, and wandered to the Hufflepuff table.

Lauren Andrews had cut her hair over the summer—that was the first thing Draco noticed. Her brown hair fell in gentle curls until they hit her shoulders, and it looked extremely soft. Draco was also able to notice that Lauren must have gone somewhere tropical over her summer break, for her skin was much darker, caramelized with a beautiful tan which delightfully enhanced her light brown eyes. Draco just loved those eyes, and he secretly hoped he would be able to get to see them much more this upcoming school year.

Over the past five years, Draco and Lauren had a very small handful of interactions. She had been saved by Draco when she and Hermione nearly died from being attacked by the troll in their first year, and she had thanked Draco numerous times for his heroic actions. But, besides getting along and working together in their first year herbology class, the two children didn't seem to continue talking as frequently as Draco hoped they would. Lauren sent him smiles as they passed each other in the corridors, which lead Draco to becoming dizzy, sweaty, and nervous, and in their third year, he was convinced she was in love with him. Ron and Harry had to help him think rationally, though.

"She looks at you when you pass by, she says hello to you when you two come face-to-face; mate she's only being polite! She does what anyone else would do, she doesn't love you! Ron and I smile at you and greet you every day, and we aren't in love with you!"

"There again, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation..." Dolores Jane Umbridge's voice droned on and on as she continued to talk about, basically, how the teaching techniques and lesson planning at Hogwarts should be altered and perfected differently. "Some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgement. At the same time, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, while others, outmoded and outworn, must be forgotten.

"So, let us all move forward! Into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfected what can be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited!" All four tables, now somewhat silent from Dumbledore's waving of his hand (warning the students to pipe down), stared back at the suspected madwoman with blank faces. Absolutely no one had any clue about what Dolores Jane Umbridge had just said, and it was Hermione who filled Harry, Ron, and Draco in.

"There was some important stuff hidden in that "load of waffle," Ron." Hermione started out sadly. Ron sat, still staring at their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in disbelief. "It means the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts, this year."

Draco instantly thought of his father and how involved in this scheme he could be. He thought back to the interaction he shared with his father at Slug and Jiggers Apothecary earlier this summer. He remembered his father telling him to enjoy his school year, and he also remembered the way his father said it; like he already knew something different, and possibly bad, was going to happen this year.


	8. Risk-Free

THE GREAT HALL buzzed with excitement as the four tables munched on their toast, cut into their eggs, and sipped their orange and pumpkin juices. Ron's plate, as usual, was loaded with foods of all types: eggs, both scrambled and sunny-side-up, perfect triangular pieces of toast, lathered in jellies, jams, and marmalades of all sorts, sausage links and patties, and slices of his favorite fruits. Harry watched his red-headed friend devour everything on his plate with a look of disgust. Meanwhile, Hermione and Draco were obsessing over their lesson schedules that Professor McGonagall had just handed out minutes before.

It was typical of Hermione Granger to become excited about her list of classes for the week, but not of Draco. He never bothered to even look at it, since he would always just be following his best friends around. The Gryffindor house always had their classes together, big deal. This year was important for Draco, though. This year, he promised to himself that he would become friends with Lauren Andrews. Skimming his timetable intently, Draco was ecstatic to see the times of the week he would be able to spend time in the same room with Lauren.

Today, Monday, he had one and a half periods of History of Magic followed by one and a half periods of Potions with Professor Snape. He absolutely loathed the man, and Snape no doubt loathed him just as much in return, but Potions was one of Draco's favorite areas of study. He could spend hours in front of a book and cauldron, slicing and dicing ingredients while stirring the concoctions perfectly. Harry and Ron were always happy for that class, for Hermione and Draco could always earn their partnered groups an excellent lab grade.

After his Potions class, Draco would then head to Muggle Studies. This is a class that Draco was absolutely in love with. After becoming close friends with Harry, Hermione, the Weasley's, and their other muggle-born friends, Draco became interested in, well, Muggle Studies. Draco had spent a lot of time with Mr. Weasley over the past few summers rummaging through old pieces of muggle artifacts that had been misused, abused, tampered with, and gone crazy with magic. Televisions were interesting contraptions, and Draco loved playing with the record player, which was actually a very common object for witches and wizards to have. After a trip to a record and movie store in London with Hermione, Draco also came to love muggle films and music.

Draco had "accidentally" overheard a conversation between Lauren Andrews and one of her Hufflepuff friends as they discussed which classes they were taking next year. So, Draco was one-hundred percent positive that Lauren would be taking Muggle Studies with him. But, unfortunately, Draco wouldn't find out if she was taking the class with him until his fourth period. After this class, Draco would be attending his double-period Defense Against the Dark Arts with the new Professor Umbridge... How fun.

After three full periods consisting of History of Magic and Potions, Draco practically ran to the first floor, where he found his next class situated across from the Hospital Wing. When the rest of the class began to gradually pour into the Muggle Studies classroom, Draco had kept a close eye out for Lauren. Her short brown hair bounced elegantly about as she laughed with her friend, Susan Bones, who had happened to really grow up during this past summer.

"I don't want to sit near the front, Laur! Come on, we need to grab the back desks before everyone else does." Susan sang, though her voice was etched with complaint. Lauren's mouth twitched in a frown as she thought about listening to her friend's suggestion. Lauren was a muggle-born witch, so why did she have to take a Muggle Studies class? Well, the answer was quite plain: she was very proud of her culture. That, and she wanted to stay in the loop with the Muggle world, which was always tough while living at Hogwarts for such a long time. And, after taking the class last year, as well, she learned that her teacher, Charity Burbage, was so incredibly fascinated with the Muggle world that it happened to make Lauren laugh aloud during their lessons.

"You can sit wherever you'd like, Susan. But I'd really like to stay towards the front. It's always so easy to get distracted back there," Lauren mumbled, mostly to herself; Susan was already grabbing another one of her friends to share a seat with.

Lauren loved her elective classes very much. Her mandatory classes were always shared between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, therefore she was unable to interact much with the other two houses. An elective like Muggle Studies would allow her to be in a completely mixed class. As she searched for a seat to sit in, she happily took in the varied colors of her fellow Hogwarts students' robes. Red, yellow, yellow, blue, red...

Lauren, once again, frowned to herself when she did not spot one Slytherin in her class. Was she really supposed to expect that, though?

"This desk is open," spoke a familiar voice at her right. Lauren turned her head to spot a smiling blonde Gryffindor sitting down at the partnered desk, waving his hand and motioning to the seat next to him. "I mean, if you'd like to sit. And I'd take it fast if you don't want Cho Chang stealing the best seat in the classroom," he added with a whisper.

Lauren looked around briefly before noticing that this was, in fact, the best seat in the room. It was situated directly in the middle of the classroom, two rows back. "Well, alright then. Thank you, Draco." She smiled warmly before removing her messenger bag from her shoulder and taking a seat on Draco's left. Cho Chang had nearly sprinted toward the desk to snatch the seat before Lauren could. Now, she walked off with a glare on her face, forced to share a seat in the back with a heavyset Hufflepuff boy with peach marmalade still on his face from breakfast; the last detail reminded Lauren of Ronald Weasley.

On the outside, Draco was cool, calm, and completely collected. He was sure that so far, he had set up a great image for himself in front of Lauren. He sat up a little bit straighter in his seat, attempting to give Lauren the impression that he was a lot taller than he actually was. He also squared his shoulders to give off the effect of having a sturdier build. On the inside, though, Draco was an absolute mess.

He had loved Lauren Andrews since he was eleven years old, and boy, each year she got even more and more beautiful. He could remember the first time he ever saw her. It was right after he had been sorted into Gryffindor. After standing up from the stool and looking around at the first years in front of him, numb from the shock of his destined house, Draco spotted the girl, whom he had never seen before. Later that year, when Draco had found out that Lauren was a muggle-born witch, he had almost hated himself. He had feelings for a muggle-born, who at the time would be considered a "mudblood" by Draco. The boy was convinced that his mother and father would take him out of Hogwarts, not only for being sorted into Gryffindor, but for falling in love with a girl who was not of magical descent.

Draco quickly grew out of this state of mind.

"Good morning, my wonderful children!" Charity Burbage's voice rang throughout the classroom, a sound very sweet to Draco's ears. "My name is Professor Burbage, and I will be your Muggle Studies instructor this year." Their professor, who had appeared from her office, began walking toward the front of the classroom to view her new students. She was an aged woman, but couldn't be much older than Draco's parents. Dirty blonde hair framed her face in a disheveled manner, and she wore a long, brown skirt, stopping just before her ankles could be hidden. The upper half of her body was covered in a white shirt, which lay beneath a scrappy-looking, light brown vest. On top of those, black robes.

"This year, you will study the daily lives of muggles and how they cope with their lives without magic. I hope you've all purchased Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy, because we will be using it very frequently!" Professor Burbage went on. Draco could barely focus on what she was explaining, for Lauren Andrews—the Lauren Andrews—sat next to him quietly.

As Professor Burbage began to tell the class about this year's curriculum, Draco shifted in his seat so that his elbow rested on the desktop in front of him. He leaned his chin on his hand and relaxed himself so that he had a decent view of his crush out of the corner of his peripheral vision. Lauren sat back in her seat, hands comfortably in her lap as she listened to Professor Burbage with a smile. Draco noticed that her lips were shiny with some type of lipstick. Or was it Chapstick? Lip gloss? He honestly didn't know the difference. Lauren's cheeks were slightly rosy with a pretty blush, and mascara and eyeliner framed her eyes perfectly.

Why did every girl in our year decide to start wearing makeup all of a sudden? Draco thought to himself. He wasn't complaining, though; Lauren's sudden transformation during the summer made her look much older than she was. Maybe seventeen, rather than fifteen.

"What exactly is electricity? Well, you children are fifth years, you've already learned that. But, we will be reviewing the basics, which you have previously learned. What about technology and science? That will also be included in our first review lesson. Our biggest topics this year will include the psychology and sociology of muggles, which, in our terms, is simply the study of the mind and its connection to behavior, and the study of structure and functioning of muggle society—respectively!" Lauren was already very highly aware of everything their professor was talking about, but she was extremely interested in a wizard's point of view of how her society worked.

"L-Lauren," Draco whispered quietly, eyes shifting from Professor Burbage, who was going on and on about the different projects they would complete this year, to the girl who sat next to him.

Lauren's cheeks heated up slightly at the fact that she and this boy would be having a conversation in the middle of a teacher's lecture. Lauren wasn't a perfect student, but she did have respect toward her elders. "Yes?" She whispered back, glancing at Draco.

"How was your holiday this summer? You've gotten tan. You went away?"

She nodded at Draco's question, secretly wondering how he noticed the difference of her skin tone. How much does this boy pay attention to me? "It was wonderful," Lauren began, shifting so that she was a bit closer to her peer. "My parents took me to Aruba for my birthday. It really was quite magnificent."

"Your birthday's not in January, then?" Draco quickly countered, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. He could have sworn he saw Lauren celebrating her birthday in the month of January for the past four years.

Lauren's eyebrows raised in shock. "Well, yes. It is. We decided to go in July, though. There's no time to travel at Hogwarts." She laughed quietly. Draco felt her breath wash across his face, and if he weren't surrounded by fifteen other students, he probably would have passed out.

How do girl's always smell so good?

Draco would have replied to Lauren's statement, but an intellectual-looking Ravenclaw sitting behind him kicked his legs under Draco's chair. "Oi! Shut it, will you?" The boy sneered and Draco whipped around to catch his eye. Clearly Lauren and Draco's side conversation wasn't very welcomed by the students around them trying to concentrate on Professor Burbage's introductions.

Charity Burbage had released her fifth year students from class early, since the first day of school was mainly used for going over class rules and expectations. Lauren stood from her spot next to the interesting Gryffindor and skimmed her eyes over the students leaving the room. Susan Bones, her supposedly "best friend" was no where to be seen. It upset Lauren that she and Susan seemed to be drifting apart, but she was coming to realize that things change over the years with age; maybe this year, Lauren would make different friends.

"Where's your next class, Lauren?" Draco asked as he pulled his bag over his shoulder. He had stashed his timetable away in his bag, for he knew exactly where he was heading now; Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Umbridge.

Lauren and Draco began to walk out of the classroom, side-by-side. "Transfiguration," she muttered, her face scrunching up in distaste. Transfiguration was probably Lauren's least favorite subject here at Hogwarts.

Draco frowned at the fact that he wouldn't be able to walk Lauren to her next class, which was situated on the other end of the first floor. "Have fun with that, I have Defense Against the Dark—"

"Oh, my, you have fun with that," Lauren replied as they turned a corner. Students swarmed the corridors and little first years held onto each other as they tried to figure out where exactly they were heading next. Draco remembered when that was him, four years ago. "Did you hear her idiotic speech last night? "Progress for the sake of progress must be discourage."" She mimicked Dolores Jane Umbridge's terrible, high-pitched voice. "What load of rubbish even is that? What does that even mean?"

Draco's heart swelled in his chest as he watched Lauren become angry with her reminiscence of last night's events. "It's a bunch of bollocks if you ask me. Hey, I was wondering if—"

"—I have to turn here, now. I'll see you later?" Lauren interrupted, stopping in the middle of the hallway so that she could walk in the opposite direction. Draco was confused at first, but when he realized that he needed to head to the third floor while Lauren's class was still on the first, he nodded and smiled.

"Y-Yeah, see you soon." Draco stuttered and bit his lip. He stood there, watching Lauren smile back with those perfect, pink lips and incredible white teeth. He heard her call out a "bye, Draco!" as she walked off, and disappeared with the rest of the students around her.

•••

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," the class of Slytherin and Gryffindor students mumbled monotonously. The rows of children sat silently, staring at their new professor with blank faces. Professor Umbridge, wearing a pink skirt and sweater like the night before, stood at the front of the classroom with her hands clasped in front of her tightly.

"Now, that wasn't too difficult, was it?" She grinned and clapped her hands together twice. "Wonderful! Alright, now. Stow your wands away and take out your quills, please!" Draco and Hermione exchanged looks with each other. If it were any other teacher, Hermione would be following the said directions without any problem at all. But, this was Dolores Jane Umbridge. The professor's introduction last night at the Welcoming Feast did not leave a great first impression on the entire student body; not even on the staff.

With a flick of her wand, their professor brought up the 'course aims' for this year on the large blackboard at the front of the room.

""Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic,"" read a Slytherin boy seated behind Draco. He recognized the voice as being Blaise Zabini.

""Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used,"" continued Ron Weasley, who sat directly in front of Draco. Harry, sitting to the left of Ron, looked as angry as ever. He stared right through Professor Umbridge, as if he were trying to access her inner thoughts.

Draco, following his peers' actions, read aim number three on the blackboard. ""Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use?""Draco instantly made a face, because this just did not make sense to him...

"I'm sorry, dear, did you have something you wanted to ask?" Professor Umbridge turned away from the board and took a few steps toward the rows of desk, eyes fixated on Draco.

Draco's eyes widened and his cheeks turned pink as he became the center of attention. "I-I... No, I don't have—"

Professor Umbridge interrupted Draco when she cleared her throat with a girlish, very annoying, 'ahem.' "Your name, please?"

Seraphina Slughorn snickered from the back of the room. "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." The boy mumbled, glancing down at his textbook, Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.

"Of course! I knew I recognized you." Umbridge grinned and nodded, then made a face. "Tall, blonde hair... You look just like your father. Lovely man, Lucius is." Draco's blood ran cold at the mention of him and he had a feeling that this woman would dislike him because of who his father was. Draco was the outcast of the Malfoy family; not one of his father's friends cared about Draco. The Slytherin students in the room rolled their eyes, scoffed, laughed, and shook their heads in disappointment; this was a regular occurrence in Draco's classes whenever Draco was put under the spotlight. He absolutely hated it.

Hermione Granger's hand flew up, and before Professor Umbridge could call on her, she began speaking. "Professor, my name is Hermione Granger. I was just wondering why your course aims mention nothing about using defensive spells? Will we not be using magic this year in class? If so, why not?"

Draco had never seen a professor so bewildered in his entire life at Hogwarts. Umbridge's eyes bugged out of her head as she looked to the girl next to Draco. "I'm sorry, dear, but I cannot imagine why you'd ever have to use a defensive spell in my classroom. Do you expect one of your peers to attack you during your lessons? Miss Granger."

"Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying we're not going to use magic in class?" Ron nearly exploded, face etched with utter confusion.

"What's the good in taking Defense Against the Dark Arts if we're not even going to learn how to use defensive spells correctly?" Draco questioned, in which Hermione quickly backed up with, "Professor Quirrell, Professor Lockhart, Professor Lupin, and Professor Moody have all taught us defensive spells and encouraged us to practice them!"

"Students will raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class!" Umbridge screeched like a barn owl. This caused the entire room to become so quiet, the first years outside in their Flying lessons could be heard. "I am so very afraid that you are not qualified to decide what the point of any class is, Miss Granger! Witches and wizards much older and cleverer than you have created our new program of study. You all will be learning about defensive magic in a very secure, risk-free way—"

The next student to speak up was Harry Potter. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a secure, risk-free way!" Hermione, Draco, and Harry stared at their friend in fear. It seemed as if everyone in the Wizarding world was against Harry since the Triwizard Tournament, and it was evident that Professor Umbridge would be, as well.

"Your hand is not up, Mr. Potter! It is in the view of the Minisry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your O.W.L. examinations, which, after all, is what school is all about."

"What's theory going to do when we're unable to fight for our lives? Huh?" Harry bit back, raising his voice. Draco and Ron began to tell him to relax, to let it go, to just be quiet. Harry wasn't having it, though. "No! This is ridiculous, we need to know how to use defensive spells! We're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting our there?"

A scream from Umbridge. "There's nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter! Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" Her voice quieted at her question, and now she was watching Harry was a soft smile. Draco had only been in this classroom for fifteen minutes, and he was already terrified of this woman.

"Harry Potter, don't you dare..." Hermione mumbled quietly just as Harry began to say, "Oh, I don't know... Maybe Lord Voldemort?"

Umbridge stood there silently, ignoring the gasps whispering into the room when Harry spoke You-Know-Who's name. "Let me make this... quite plain," she spoke, walking down the row of desks until she stopped right in front of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. "You have been told that a certain Dark wizard is at large. But this... is... a... lie!"

Harry threw his hands up into the air, clearly enraged as he shouted, "It's not a lie! I saw him, I fought him!" Draco, feeling ballsy as ever, went to support his best friend. "He's serious, Professor, You-Know-Who really is—"

"DETENTION, MR. POTTER, MR. MALFOY!" Draco could feel Hermione jump next to him, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Tomorrow evening, five o'clock, my office. I repeat, this is a lie! The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. And, if you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help you all! I am your friend. And now, you will kindly begin reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.'"


	9. Detention

LAUREN ANDREWS' TUESDAY morning started off happily as she woke her roommates up, opening the Hufflepuff-yellow curtains of their dorm room. Bright rays of sun swallowed up the room as the handful of fifth years all cowered away, stuffing their faces into their pillows.

"Up and at 'em, my beautiful girls!" Lauren sang loudly as she strolled over to her bed and pulled the sheets over her pillow neatly.

"Shove off, Andrews, it's too early for this," Faye Tollings mumbled as she sat up, squinting at the brightness of the sun shining through the windows. Her wild black hair was insanely messy from her restless sleep during the night. In the bed to her right, a happy-eyed Leda Sperry rose from her mattress and began to get ready for the day.

Lauren roamed over to Susan's bed and ripped the sheets away from her body, which triggered Susan to curse lightly under her breath before sitting up and rolling out of her bed like a zombie—that was Lauren's best comparison. "Now, now, don't be fresh, Faye," Lauren smiled at her grouchy friend. "Veronica, darling, up! We have double potions today!" Veronica Jameson's laziness earned her a slap on her leg.

If you observed Lauren Andrews preparing for her classes any other morning, you'd be able to conclude that she, in fact, was not a pretty little morning owl. Even more so on her double-period days—days like today. Any other morning, Lauren would cry and complain about her double periods, about two and a quarter hours worth of dreadful potions, transfiguration, charms, and so on. Any other morning, Lauren would make it to her first period later than others, strolling the corridors with her friends so that she wouldn't have to endure the early minutes of lesson.

This morning, she wasn't that Lauren.

All she really had to do today was get through a double period of Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts with that horrid new Professor Umbridge. Then, she would have Herbology—with the Gryffindors. Besides Astronomy, Lauren believed that her Herbology class was always the funnest. She vividly remembered when Draco Malfoy and his friend, Dean Thomas teased the mandrakes in their second year, in which the two boys shortly passed out after aggravating the poor things, causing the mandrakes to scream even louder. She also remembered working in partners with Neville Longbottom, a nervous boy with big teeth who always seemed to know what he was doing. Lauren had a ton of respect for the Gryffindors. Especially her close friend, Hermione Granger.

"Hermione, I know you'll want to work with Lauren Andrews today—if we do something, of course. You two are always working together in Herbology, but do you think that maybe—"

"—What, you're saying that you'd like to be her partner instead?" The bushy-haired fifth year scoffed as she finished up her french toast and pineapple slices. Harry, Ron, Draco, and Hermione sat in the Great Hall, ready to head to their first classes of the day: Charms, Transfiguration, and then Herbology.

Harry raised his eyebrows from behind his goblet of fresh pumpkin juice, trying his hardest not to smirk at the blush spreading across Draco's cheeks. "I—" Draco stuttered unable to find the words to say. He was aware that both Harry and Ron knew about his not-so-little infatuation with Lauren Andrews. Hermione, though... She was another person to worry about.

"Alright, so what if I want to be her partner?" Draco exploded, defending himself as he munched on his buttered toast. "Is it such a crime to want to work with other girls besides you, Lavender, Parvarti, Ronald—"

"—Oi, bug off, Draco!" Ron shouted with a frown as Hermione held up her hands to stop the two of them from talking. "Will you two please shut up?" The girl rolled her eyes and pressed her finger tips against her temples, rubbing slowly. "Why don't I spend my time with other girls? Why is it always you three boys?" She asked, mostly to herself, before looking up and folding her hands together again.

"I'll work with you today, Hermione." Harry raised his hand up, smirking at Drco across from him. Ron then let out a defeated cry and buried his face in his hands, which were, of course, covered in maple syrup and bacon grease.

"Excellent. That settles that." Draco let out a breath and glanced at his friends sitting around him, all staring right back at him. "Leave me alone!" Draco whined before grabbing his books and bag, and taking off out of the Great Hall.

•••

"Good afternoon, students!" Professor Sprout welcomed the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor first years into her greenhouse warmly. "I hope you've all had a wonderful summer holiday, but I'm afraid to inform you that it's now time to think Herbology!" She clapped her hands together once, rubbing her glove-clad hands against one another.

Draco, Ron, and Harry were huddled up beside each other in the corner of the greenhouse, listening to the beginning of their professor's lecture, which Draco prayed wouldn't last long at all. Draco could barely pay attention, though; Lauren Andrews stood with Leda Sperry, Hermione Granger, and Lavender Brown just across the greenhouse, holding Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties by Hadrian Whittle against her chest. He noticed that her robes were open, her yellow-necked grey sweater on display, with her yellow Hufflepuff tie undone slightly. Draco couldn't blame Lauren wanting to take her tie off; it was the last period of the day, and all every student wanted to do was change out of their Hogwarts uniforms. As Draco studied Lauren's Hufflepuff robes, he didn't think he could love the color yellow anymore than he did right at that moment.

"This year we will be reviewing the Fire-Making spell, for you will be learning new ways to use it in relation to Herbology and plant life. Your first big lesson will be on Self-fertilizing Shrubs, which you will be learning about very shortly! So, keep in mind who you would like to work with. If you cannot efficiently choose a partner, then one will be assigned to you." Pomona Spout smiled before taking off her Dragon-hide gloves. "We will also be studying the Screechsnap, the Chinese Chomping Cabbage, the Fanged Geranium, and the Flutterby Bush—just to name a few plants! Oh, and I didn't forget about your O.W.L.'s! Be very prepared to be doing a lot of review lessons to get ready for them!"

A chorus of sighs rang throughout the greenhouse when their professor mentioned the O.W.L.'s, or the Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. In a few short months, the fifth years would be taking them, mandated by the Wizarding Examinations Authority at the Ministry, to assess if a student should continue taking his or her class, and which level of difficulty of the class a student should be placed in. This was the first mandatory standardized test that the students had to take, so this year, the stress levels were expected to be extremely high for the fifth years.

After Professor Sprout concluded her lecture on this year's syllabus and class expectations, the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors all rushed around the greenhouse to claim their partners. Harry instantly made a beeline to grab onto Hermione, as Ron stood in fear, watching all of his friends pick everyone but him. Hermione gripped onto Lauren's hand and Draco could not believe what she did next:

Instead of asking Lauren to be her partner, Hermione casually tugged the Hufflepuff away from Leda Sperry, Lavender Brown, and the other girls who attempted stealing Lauren away as their partner. "Draco, do you have a partner?" Hermione asked Draco sweetly as she gave him a look as if to say, "Say no, you idiot."

"N-No. I don't." Draco tried to say smoothly, but blushed anyways; he's been doing that a lot lately.

"If Harry and Hermione are working together, then I suppose we can work together, Draco." Lauren smiled and made her way over to him. The pair stood at the edge of the greenhouse table as Professor Sprout began to levitate textbooks over to each pair of students. To Draco's right, Ron stood with his own partner: Neville Longbottom.

"Now, today's class will be fairly easy. All I expect from you today is to skim through Flesh-Eating Trees of the World with your partner and keep in mind which plant you may seem interested in the most. Later on in the year when we continue to review this textbook, you will write an essay about the plant you've chosen with the partner you're working with today. So, choose wisely!" Professor Sprout clapped her hands again and let the greenhouse begin concentrating on the textbooks.

Lauren Andrews took a seat on one of the wooden stools lined up against the greenhouse table, and Draco followed in suit. "Doesn't any professor understand that no one's going to get any work done if we work in partners?" Lauren scoffed and set her bag down on the table in front of her. "Especially if we're expected to just 'skim through' a book."

"So you don't plan on actually trying to get anything done today?" Draco asked with a shy laugh as he turned on his stool to face Lauren. As he did this, his knee brushed up against Lauren's bare one. His cheeks flushed once again before he inched his leg away from her.

When she grabbed Flesh-Eating Trees of the World, Lauren opened up the textbook to a page a good half-way through the book, and pointed to the title at the top. "The Thorned Crimson Hellebore. There we go, I bet we can write an excellent essay on that, don't you?" Lauren smiled and tucked her short hair behind her ear. Draco noticed that every time she went to fix her hair, it would just fall right back into her face again because of his short length.

"Why did I always think you were like Hermione?" Draco laughed and made a face at her. It was the truth; Draco always assumed that Lauren would be obsessed with her studies just like his friend Hermione, who was currently flipping through all the pages of Flesh-Eating Trees of the World, studying the content intently as Harry sat next to her, staring off into space.

Lauren covered her mouth as she suppressed a loud laugh. "Draco, Hermione is one of my best friends, but I would want to jump off the astronomy tour if I was exactly like her," she whispered quietly, and Draco's eyes widened at her humor. She was giggling to herself, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"You're right, I don't think I'd like it if you were exactly like her," Draco told her quietly, leaning in a bit more so that they could keep their conversation to themselves. "She's literally obsessed with her school work, how fun could you possibly be if you were, too?" Draco questioned rhetorically, taking the textbook away from Lauren and sliding it closer to himself. Thorned Crimson Hellebore. It was a pretty-looking flower, and Draco wondered why it was in a book of trees. Flesh-Eating trees.

Draco felt Lauren's shoulder brush against his as she leaned in to study the pages of the book in front of her. "It takes on the shape, size, and overall appearance of a flower but sprouts a thorned-trunk when it feels threatened," Lauren paraphrased as her eyes skimmed over the content, as if she could read Draco's mind. "See, aren't you glad I just happened to pick this one? How easy does this sound?"

"I really don't care how tough this essay is going to be," Draco started, laughing quietly. "I'm just happy we don't have to start the damned thing tonight." He was already loaded with Charms and Transfiguration homework, and a detention with Professor Umbridge. The last thing he needed was to write a fifteen-inch essay on Flesh-Eating Trees of the World.

"Why, what do you have going on after classes?" Lauren asked curiously, smoothing out her skirt across her thighs. Draco made the wrong decision of letting his eyes follow her hands over her lap, and he shifted on his stool uncomfortably.

"Charms and Transfiguration work," Draco sighed out. "...and a detention with Umbridge."

Lauren met his face with a quite gasp. "Umbitch? She gave you detention? I heard Harry got detention for mouthing off to her, but you, too?" She asked quickly, but Draco was still caught up on the nickname Lauren gave her. Laughter swam throughout his body as he shook his head.

"Umbitch."

"Oh, knock it off, I'm serious!" Lauren wasn't afraid to slap Draco's leg. The action shut him up right away.

"I defended Harry and she gave me detention. She didn't want to hear the truth." Draco stated simply, staring at a ripped page inside the textbook.

"Truth? What truth?"

In all honestly, Draco was completely unaware of Lauren's opinions on You-Know-Who, whether or not she thought he was back, and what his intentions were. Draco turned his head to look at the girl next to him and leaned into her, his lips a few centimeters away from her ear. If they were in any other situation, his actions would excite him. He had definitely had his fair share of day dreams about getting 'close' to his crush.

"That You-Know-Who is back," Draco finally whispered, and slowly pulled away to look at Lauren again. Her face was neutral, blank and expressionless as she thought about Draco's statement. The quietness between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was unbearable to Draco as Lauren picked at the edge of the dirt-stained greenhouse table. When Lauren didn't respond, Draco gave up and became convinced that his potential friend would no longer want to become one.

After a few minutes, Lauren looked up and met Draco's face with a small smile. "Don't worry. I believe you guys," she whispered, and Draco let out a deep breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Really? You do? Are you sure?" Draco asked quickly, his voice a bit too loud. Hermione and Harry glanced up from their textbook and raised their eyebrows, trying to concentrate on Lauren and Draco's conversation. He then lowered his voice. "Sorry, it's just that Harry's been getting a lot of trouble from everyone lately. About claiming that You-Know-Who is back."

"Cedric Diggory was a friend of mine. Well, kind of. He was just such a cool person, everyone wanted to be his friend." Lauren laughed quietly, but Draco could sense the sadness in her face. "I may not have been one of his closest friends, but he meant a load to everyone in Hufflepuff. I believe that You-Know-Who murdered him," she whispered to Draco with a nod.

Draco's heart ached for Lauren. He could never imagine someone in his house dying, being killed. Students grow such close relationship with the people in their Hogwarts houses... "Well, Umbitch doesn't believe so," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Don't let her get to you tonight." Draco looked up and saw a smiling Lauren. "I believe us Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors have a double period of Herbology tomorrow afternoon. So you better tell me how it went." Lauren whispered and stood up, grabbing her bag when Professor Sprout announced that class was ending.

Draco nodded and bit his lip, watching Lauren straighten out her sweater and skirt. "Will do," he said softly before watching Lauren walk off with a wave.

•••

"Good evening, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy." The terrible, horrible, disgusting voice of Professor Dolores Jane Umbidge broke the silence in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Harry and Draco had arrived at their detention with one another shortly after dinner. The classroom had initially been completely empty. Standing here with Harry and Umbridge, Draco didn't think he could hate the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom any more than he did now.

"If you gentlemen could just follow me, that would be perfect," Professor Umbridge drawled, smiling stiffly once Draco nor Harry replied to her greeting. The two boys slowly followed after Umbridge as she led them up a small set of stairs and into her office.

Draco instantly wanted to throw up. The entire room was bathed in horrid shades of pink. Light pink, dark pink, pale pink, hot pink, and a very ugly pink. Pieces of fine china were hung around the circular walls, all with tiny kittens peeking back at Harry and Draco, meowing cutely. "Well, please do take a seat." Draco noticed two desks sitting in front of Professor Umbridge's, each with a piece of parchment and a quill.

"So we'll be doing lines, then?" Draco bravely questioned once him and Harry took their seats.

"You will be—"

"—I only have one question before we begin," Harry interrupted suddenly. "This is only a one-time thing, correct? Just tonight? The Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts are Friday evening at five, and we don't want to miss—"

"—I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. But I believe that I cannot let you off the hook, there. You will have detention with me every evening until the end of next week. As for you, Mr. Malfoy," her eyes swept over Draco condescendingly. "You need only visit me tonight." Umbridge nodded with a tight smile and gestured to the desks at which Draco and Harry sat. Draco felt his stomach drop and began to wish that his best friend didn't hate him.

"Yes. You will be doing lines for me tonight. Oh! And you needn't any ink—these are quite special quills of mine. Mr. Potter, I would like you to write, "I must not tell lies." Go ahead, dear."

I must not tell lies? Draco sat as Harry stared at his parchment. Draco hadn't told any lies, he was simply defending his best friend earlier yesterday afternoon. "And me, professor?" He asked slowly.

This question made Professor Umbridge grin. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy... How about... Oh, yes. "I will not be a blood traitor." Go on, now. Both of you, until the messages sink in." Her eyes lit up with amusement. Draco's heart dropped right along with his stomach at his professor's words.

"I beg your pardon, professor?" Draco nearly choked, completely bewildered at her request. Draco didn't consider himself a blood traitor, even though his family did. He only considered his family to be terrible people.

"I'm sure I don't have to repeat myself, dear. "I will not be a blood traitor." Now, please. The longer you sit dilly-dallying, the longer your punishment will last." Once, again, that ugly little smile...

Draco and Harry began writing their lines, "I must not tell lies," and "I will not be a blood traitor." Harry took his punishment as it came to him, sitting there calmly with a blank expression on his face. Draco, on the other hand, was fighting back tears as hard as he could, anger welling up inside of him, nearly hitting his breaking point. After a few moments of writing, Draco felt a hot stinging sensation on the back of his left hand. His eyebrows knit together, stressed, as he tried to figure out what was happening. Then, before his very eyes, letters began to carve themselves into the flesh of his skin. Harry and Draco both let out gasps of agony as they pushed on, shakily writing down their messages and flexing their non-dominant hands in pain. Draco's skin began to turn pink around the new cuts on his hand as red blotches rose to the surface of his skin. Hints of blood trickled along the grooves of the letters. Draco stopped writing once he finished the second line.

"Yes?" Professor Umbridge, who was standing behind her desk, hands clasped in front of her, smiled, once again.

Draco could scream. Draco could yell, curse her off, have Harry back him up without a problem. He could run out of this office, out of the classroom, and to Professor McGonagall about what Umbridge was making him and Harry do right now...

"Nothing, professor," he said quietly.

Harry was about to open his mouth to speak when Umbridge spoke. "Good. Let's carry on, then. The both of you, three more lines, and then we'll see where we're at." She nodded, encouraging them to continue writing.

And so they did.

At Draco's third line, he was biting back yelps and grunts of pain. Harry, next to him, could be heard breathing heavily, raggedly. At their fourth line, the boys' hands were shaking, their handwriting becoming more and more sloppier as time went on. At their fifth and final line, drops of blood began to ran down the backs of their hands, staining the desks beneath them.

Dolores walked to stand in front of Harry and Draco, and looked over their work with great satisfaction. "Very, very good," she commented with a nod of her head. "Scourgify," she mumbled, taking her wand in her hand and pointing it at their desks. The blood that had dripped onto the dark wood of the desktops vanished, leaving only their hands a bloody mess. "Mr. Potter, I will see you tomorrow evening. Mr. Malfoy, I will see you next class. Sleep well, boys."

Harry and Draco walked back to the Gryffindor common room in silence.

They hadn't looked at each other, hadn't said one word. Draco reached up to wipe his cheek as a tear slowly escaped his eye while millions of thoughts ran through his head. His hand ached as he thought about what Professor Umbridge just made him do, those filthy words... I will not be a blood traitor. He felt so incredibly victimized by the teacher, amazed that she felt that strongly about his blood line, his family, ancestors, and who he was currently spending his time with; muggle-borns and half-bloods.

What would his father say about this if he found out? Would he help to end Professor Umbridge's career? Surely it was completely illegal to inflict physical pain and discipline on students at Hogwarts... But would Lucius Malfoy even care? After all, he and Draco's mother paid no attention to the boy. This news would mean nothing to them...

Draco's name would curse him for the rest of his life, and he knew it. Until the day he dies, Draco knew that he would be criticized, looked at differently, frowned upon for being in Gryffindor and associating himself with wizards and witches of impure blood, other blood traitors like himself. Now he would have the scars to remind him of this fact every day.

When Harry and Draco arrived back at their common room, they went upstairs to their dormitory and went to bed without a word.


	10. Friends

HARRY AND DRACO were extremely fortunate to have free first and second periods that Wednesday, for the two boys could barely sleep the night prior. Draco tossed and turned all night, the pain in his hand unbearable to work with. He knew that Harry was in the same situation he was; Harry laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling of his four-post bed all night long, unable to keep his eyes shut. As Draco tried to sleep, he was haunted by the terrible message now engraved into his skin.

I will not be a blood traitor.

I will not be a blood traitor.

I will not be a blood traitor.

Ron and Hermione were alarmed when Draco and Harry didn't arrive at breakfast; before Ron left to head toward the Great Hall, Draco and Harry mumbled that they would be there shortly. But, breakfast was now over, and Draco and Harry had both failed to make an appearance.

Harry was no where to be seen when Draco finally forced himself to get out of bed late in the early afternoon, twenty minutes before he had to be in Transfiguration with Slytherin and the rest of the fifth year Gryffindors. After taking a quick shower and dressing down in his red and black robes, Draco tried his hardest to fix his hair, for he knew he would be seeing Lauren later on that afternoon for a double period of Herbology. The back of his hand burned each time he moved it, and no matter how many spells he tried, he could neither ease the pain, nor lessen the nasty appearance of the bloodied cuts and scars.

The entire third period, Draco tried his hardest to hide the back of his hand. The attempt was nearly impossible, though, because of his position in the classroom. He sat smack in the middle of the room with Hermione to his left, so Draco was forced to keep his left arm off of the desk at all times. When he had to take out his wand and practice vanishing spells, he noticed that Hermione nearly caught a glimpse of his punishment.

"Can you believe we already have an essay to do in Transfiguration?" Ronald complained as the quartet left Professor McGonagall's classroom. "The Inanimatus Conjurus spell. Eighteen inches on that! And we've never even covered that topic before. I'm telling you, Minerva's losing it," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"She's preparing us for learning about new conjuring spells, you dimbo!" Hermione nearly shouted, glancing at Ron as she, Draco, Harry, and Ron traveled across the school to the greenhouses. "God, you always act like the world is about to end. Obviously we're going to help each other with our essays," Hermione finished.

Draco heard loud, familiar laughter turn the corner as they all began to walk down the flight of stairs leading down to the first floor. Turning his head back to view the source of the girlish giggles, Draco noticed Lauren Andrews, Veronica Jameson, Leda Sperry, and Susan Bones trailing after him and his friends. Lauren caught Draco's eye momentarily before flashing him a smile, then going back to her previous conversation with her girlfriends. Draco felt his heart flutter slightly at the innocent act of kindness and acknowledgement; he thought that Lauren looked even more beautiful today than she did yesterday (if that was even possible!), although she wore the same robes, and her hair and makeup seemed to look the same, as well.

Thunder rolled in the sky and echoed through the school's stone corridors loudly while rain pounded against the towers and rooftops of Hogwarts. The students ran through the open corridors outside to reach the greenhouses, holding their bags and books over their heads as they tried to avoid the wind spitting raindrops at them from all sides. Draco's robes were wet when he arrived in Professor Sprout's greenhouse, and his hand stung at the sudden dampness in the air. He knew that soon, it would be nearly impossible to hide those words; it seemed that Harry was still actively trying to conceal his.

The air was thick and heavy with moisture as the fifth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors filed into the greenhouse, lugging along their already heavy (and quite wet) bags. "Good afternoon, happy to see you all again!" Professor Sprout beamed when she thought all of her students had arrived. "I would like you all to please sit with your partners from yesterday. We will be reading out of the textbook as a class for a bit while we are introduced to Self-fertilizing Shrubs. After, I will ask you to spend more time with your partner discussing the Flesh-Eating tree you have chosen yesterday, as I will go around and record who is working with who, and who is doing what."

Lauren was already sitting in her seat from yesterday when Draco pulled away from Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Her hair was messier than when he'd seen her on their way to Herbology, but Draco secretly loved it—her brown locks were clumped together here and there due to the rain, and the ends were frizzy from the humidity. Lauren caught Draco's eye when she suddenly turned her head, which forced Draco to immediately take a seat next to her.

"How are you, Lauren?" Draco asked softly once he set his bag and textbook down, Flesh-Eating Trees of The World. He reached up to brush his damp hair away from his forehead and sent her a friendly smile.

"All is well, Draco. I'm certainly not enjoying the weather, though. Say a prayer that it isn't like this tomorrow night. That would ruin Astronomy so much!" Lauren sighed and thrummed her fingers against the table in front of her. "So, tell me. How was last night? How was your date with Umbit—"

"—Please open your textbooks to page five of Flesh-Eating Trees of The World," Professor Sprout's voice silenced those speaking throughout the greenhouse, including Draco and Lauren's. "Would anyone like to volunteer to read? If not, I'll randomly—Oh, yes. Go ahead, Miss Granger."

Hermione, sat next to Harry across the greenhouse table, straightened her back and began to read loudly and clearly. "As we have read before, shrubs, trees, flowers, and other species of plants..." Draco quickly zoned her out, staring off into space as the sound of the rain pounding against the greenhouse ceiling and walls numbed him away from reality.

He clenched his right fist when his injured hand stung sharply, and Draco resorted to biting down on the inside of his check to take his mind off of the terrible pain. It still made no sense to him. Why had he been punished in the first place? He could admit that he may have talked back to Professor Umbridge, but it was only to defend his best friend. Voldemort was back. Voldemort had killed Cedric Diggory, and if Harry hadn't successfully fought back, he would have been killed, as well. Just like Lily and James Potter. And, so many others...

Draco thought about going to Professor McGonagall about what had happened to him last night with Professor Umbridge. He lay awake most of the night thinking about writing those lines, the pain that the horrible quill caused him, and how much trouble Umbridge could get into for making him and Harry do something like that. Wasn't physical abuse for punishment of a student completely illegal? He could just picture Minerva McGonagall having a go with Dolores Jane Umbridge... And he secretly hoped that he would be able to see that by the end of this school year.

For the next thirty minutes, Professor Sprout called on each and every student to read aloud a passage from the textbook. Draco was called upon to read about a brief introduction to the care and handling of Self-fertilizing shrubs, something that bored him so very much. When Professor Sprout was finished going over the first introductory chapter with them, she allowed her students to converse with their partners about their chosen trees.

Lauren instantly spun around on her wooden stool to face Draco with eager eyes. "Spill! How did it go? What did she make you and Harry do?" She asked quickly, evidently impatient to hear Draco's answer. Both Draco and Harry stiffened at her question, Draco could see out of the corner of his eye that Harry was watching him intently. Don't you dare tell her, he imagined Harry was thinking inside his head. Draco tore his eyes away from Harry before looking back at Lauren once again.

She was more interested in Harry and Draco's detention with Professor Umbridge than she would care to admit. Lauren was naturally a very nosy little girl and always loved to get her face into situations that weren't her own, but this time, she genuinely cared. She didn't believe that Draco and Harry deserved being punished for what they believed in, for what was the truth. She knew that Cedric Diggory was murdered on the night of the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. She knew that it was Lord Voldemort who had returned, and she knew that it was him who was responsible for her fellow Hufflepuff's tragic death.

"She just made us do some boring lines," Draco finally stated, rolling his eyes. "It didn't take that long, really." Lie. "We just sat and wrote lines in her office while she watched, which was really quite annoying."

Lines? Lauren thought to herself, amused. "That's it? I expected way worse from that foul gargoyle. Bone breaking, rat torture, foot whipping, tooth extraction—"

Although his and Harry's punishment could compare to those horrifying methods of torture, Draco couldn't help but laugh at Lauren's sense of humor. "No, Merlin, no!" He smiled and shook his head, and Lauren noticed the small crinkles by his eyes as he did so. She had to admit that it really was quite cute.

"Students, please take out a fresh piece of parchment and write down your partnered groups, followed by your choice of flesh-eating trees. You will be using these later on next week when you brainstorm your essays!" Professor Sprout called out from the corner of the greenhouse as she watched the children around her. "I will be coming about and collecting them."

Lauren and Draco went right for their bags at the same time to access a new piece of parchment to write their information down on. At that moment, their arms and hands collided, sending Draco to retract his hand quickly, and then causing him to accidentally push his textbook off the table. He's not exactly sure how he did it, and quite frankly, neither was Lauren.

As Draco leaned down to pick up his textbook from the damp greenhouse floor, Lauren took the moment to rummage through her messenger bag and extract the piece of parchment and a quill. When she turned back to Draco, who was just straightening back up, her eyes went wide. Her hands lunged for his left wrist and she then attempted to cradle his hand in hers. "You poor thing!" She gasped. "Draco, what happened to you? Merlin, do you want me to walk you to the Hospital Wing?"

It had happened way too fast. Before he knew it, Lauren was grabbing his wrist and pulling it into her lap so that she could inspect the engraved words on the back of his left hand. Fortunately for Draco, though, he didn't think Lauren even knew what she was looking at. Draco tugged his hand out of Lauren's grasp, eyes wide, before she could inspect the injury any further. "I-It's nothing. Nothing important, it'll heal soon," he told her, words rushed.

"But what happened? It looks terrible, Draco," Lauren frowned, dropping her now empty hands into her lap.

"You don't need to worry about that," Draco shook his head as he hid his hand away from her. "It'll get better within no time—"

"—What could have possibly done that to you? Was it an owl? Draco, why won't you let me see?" Lauren was getting frustrated, while Draco's heart was melting more and more each moment she spoke his name. It sounded so angelic, so pretty coming off Lauren's lips. Especially now, as she leans over and grabs for his wrist, frowning at him with pouty lips and her eyebrows creased in distress. Draco gently shook his head as he placed his hand on her upper arm, not allowing her to come any closer.

"Lauren Andrews, I am fine."

"Draco Malfoy, no you are not."

"Have Lauren Andrews and Draco Malfoy written down their essay information on a new piece of parchment?"

Professor Sprout stood behind the two teenagers with an amused smile. She was never one for disciplining her students, and by the looks of these two, she really didn't feel like beginning. Lauren blushed a deep red before nearly pulling herself off of Draco and letting go of his arm. Draco sat there, palms sweaty as he realized just how close his crush of three plus years was to him. She grabbed her quill and quickly scribbled in her sloppy cursive handwriting:

Lauren Andrews and Draco Malfoy  
Hufflepuff / Gryffindor  
Tree: Thorned Crimson Hellebore

After writing down their information, she thrust the piece of parchment to her Head of House and gave her a big, toothy smile, one that always made Draco crumble to pieces.

"Thank you, Miss Andrews," Professor Sprout took the parchment from Lauren with a small smirk and continued down the table, collecting the other partnered groups' essay information. Lauren whipped back around and gave Draco and stern look, her eyes small slits on her face as she shook her head.

"Go to the damned Hospital Wing, you nutter," she said in a firm, authoritative voice.

"You can't tell me what to do," Draco smirked and shook his head. He watched as Lauren's face scrunched up in frustration.

"Then I'll tell Professor Sprout. And then she'll force you to go get it looked at. Your hand could get infected, Draco."

Draco picked up Lauren's quill and twirled it between his fingers, rolling his eyes smoothly. "Professor Sprout can't make me do sh—"

"Professor McGonagall, then? Head of Gryffindor House? I bet that'd do it."

"Why does it concern you so much?" Draco sighed and turned to face her, looking at her curiously. All the years Draco had observed Lauren from afar, she never seemed to be this pushy. She never seemed to be as pushy as Hermione Granger.

"I look down and see that my friend is injured and bleeding!" Lauren threw her hands up. "Wouldn't you be concerned if I were, too?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, and Draco's heart fluttered. Friend. Lauren really considered him as a friend. Draco felt as if his whole world were turned upside down, he could hardly believe that the witch he'd been swooning over since year one had finally considered him to be a friend.

Draco's lips twitched up in a smile as he watched the girl before him. Lauren was glaring up at him with a worried facial expression, eyebrows furrowed and a small frown set into her soft, pouty lips. Draco just wanted to kiss her already, but that would be accomplished in due time. Because, of course, Draco had a plan. Even though he wasn't exactly sure what his plan was... Not just yet, at least.

The Gryffindor boy leaned closer to Lauren and let out a sigh. "I'll tell you about my hand tomorrow evening during Astronomy if you shut up about it right now," Draco mumbled lowly. Lauren, who was not quite satisfied with Draco's compromise, frowned again in thought. Defeated, she finally nodded her head and took her quill back out of his uninjured hand with attitude.

"Fine. And don't touch my quill, you impossible arse."


	11. Too Many Inkwells

LAUREN COULD NOT remember the last time she had been able to sleep so perfectly. Her ten hours of slumber went uninterrupted as she clung to her pillow tightly, dreaming happily of her friends, warm sunny days spent in the Herbology greenhouse, and weekend walks to Hogsmeade, which she was so extremely looking forward to doing soon. The young Hufflepuff stirred awake as anxiety struck her sleeping form, as her mind wandered to the blonde-haired Gryffindor whom she shared her Herbology classes with. Her head was instantly laced with fear and curiosity as she pictured Draco Malfoy showing her his hand, which was horrifying to look at as gashes, scratches and cuts littered his red and bloody skin. Lauren sat up slowly in her bed, squinting as the bright end-of-summer sun swam into the girls' dormitory, nearly blinding her. After taking a moment to adjust to her new morning state, Lauren tumbled out of bed and noticed that most of her fellow Hufflepuff friends had already gone down for breakfast. The girls had a day completely free of class periods, besides their midnight astronomy lesson with Professor Aurora Sinistra. Faye Tollings, Leda Sperry, and Susan Bones had already made their beds and disappeared from the room, and Lauren nudged Veronica Jameson with her wand to wake her dorm mate up.

"Get up, you slug. Breakfast is probably almost over," Lauren yawned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. After setting her wand back down on her messy bed, Lauren grabbed a handful of clothes for the day and made her way to the bathroom where she got herself ready for today's events.

She had a bad feeling in her stomach as she showered, washed her hair, and got ready for the day. Genuinely, Lauren was very concerned about her friend, Draco. Her first assumption was that Draco had been attacked by an owl, maybe even some other strange creature—she laughed as she remembered the incident of Draco being "nearly clawed to death" by Buckbeak the Hippogriff in their third year. After thinking about what had happened yesterday evening in Herbology, however, Lauren came to the scary conclusion that something different was going on. Draco had been very reluctant to let Lauren look at the back of his hand, and she noticed how he shook with anxiety, like he was really trying to hide whatever had happened to him. She wished that Draco would stick to his word, that he really would tell her the truth about his injury. She wished it didn't have anything to do with his detention with Professor Umbridge.

Many students were beginning to finish up their meals and leave the Great Hall when Laurn arrived at the Hufflepuff table. She passed a group of tiny first years who sat practicing the Wingardium Leviosa spell, faces set hard with determination. She could remember when that was her, sharing Professor Flitwick's Charms class with Ravenclaw as she and her friends tried so very hard to levitate white feathers. Lauren was one of the few students able to perfect the charm on their first try, and Professor Flitwick praised her for days.

"Lauren! And Veronica!" shouted Leda who sat with Faye and Susan who were munching slowly on their jammed slices of toast. "We thought you two would never wake up. Listen, tomorrow is the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts. We're going after Defense Against the Dark Arts, yeah?"

Lauren pulled herself into an empty space next to Susan as Veronica sat across from her. "We are?" Lauren asked, completely lost with a stupefied expression on her face. Faye let out a sigh and shot Lauren a look, which Lauren then replied with a faked look of realization. "Yes. Yeah, we are. But why, exactly?" Lauren didn't mind spending time cheering on the other Hogwarts students. Now that she thought of it, it could be very fun to go out and relax at the Quidditch pitch, watching Gryffindors young and old make fools out of themselves as they attempted to make the team.

"Why? Why? Because Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Cormac McLaggen, Ron Weasley—that's why!" Faye exclaimed, causing the group of five girls to stifle their giggles. Draco and Ron's heads shot up from the Gryffindor table as they searched the Great Hall for the person who spoke their name.

He knew it had been the Hufflepuffs. Draco's eyes left his loaded plate of breakfast food as his eyes slowly swept over the Hufflepuff table, landing on Lauren Andrews and her group of friends. The two locked eyes momentarily, and Draco's mouth twitched up in a smile, completely oblivious to the food still stuck in his mouth. He watched as Lauren laughed at him, before turning back to her friends and nodding in agreement to something they had just said.

"I'm telling you, mate. These girls just keep getting more and more suspicious every year we get older. Luna Lovegood has been staring at me for the past thirty minutes, Cho Chang seems to be playing hard-to-get with Harry, and now that lot of Hufflepuffs are talking about us!" Ron mumbled through his food, elbowing Draco in the ribs.

Draco closed his mouth quickly and swallowed his food before turning to his friend with a sly smirk. "Luna Lovegood, eh?" He questioned smugly. Ron shrugged and pointed over to the Ravenclaw table, where Luna was seen talking with another girl, all the while glancing toward Ron himself. "She's an eccentric little one, don't ya think?"

Ron found himself blushing, shrugging again. "She's a nutter, yeah. But she isn't that bad, is she? I mean, she's kind of okay... She's got nice skin." Ron's hands waved around his face, gesturing to his own facial complexion. He watched as Luna Lovegood smiled dreamily at him, and then went back to talking to her peers.

Draco nearly snorted with laughter. "Nice skin? Is that what you're concerned with these days? Skin?" Hermione shot across the table with a bewildered expression. Ginny sat shaking her head, giggling quietly, and Harry took a bite of his sausage.

"I'm not concerned with anything!" Ron shouted, setting his fork down roughly on the table; a group of Slytherin students turned around in their seats and casted dirty looks at him, "All I'm saying is that she has nice skin!" He had become extremely defensive, and Draco watched as he tried not to spit up his pumpkin juice.

"Okay, Ron. You like Luna Lovegood because she has nice skin. That's all, just her skin. We're not teasing you," Harry joked and went back to eating.

The rest of the morning, Draco and Harry did tease Ron about Luna. It wasn't until that evening in the Gryffindor common room where things began to get serious. The sun was just beginning to set, and Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat by the fire. Hermione was curled up with a book—Charms of Defense and Deterrence by Catullus Spangle—as Crookshanks sat next to her obediently. Harry and Draco lounged on the love seat next to one another as Draco lazily moved his Sneakoscope throughout the air, waiting to see if it would spin, light up, and whistle in response to someone doing something untrustworthy nearby. It had never worked for Draco before, so he was beginning to think the device was just one large load of rubbish. And then there was Ron, who sat on the floor in front of Hermione's chair, reaching out and trying to poke at Crookshanks, who replied with hiss after hiss, occasionally swatting at Ron with his claws out.

"Draco and I have something to tell you," Harry mumbled after clearing his throat. Draco stopped playing with his Sneakoscope and sat up instantly. He knew where Harry was going with this, and he didn't exactly know how to feel about it. Was Harry really about to tell Ron and Hermione what had happened during their detention with Professor Umbridge? His heart began to race and his palms began to sweat. Draco didn't know why he was so nervous about telling his friends about the detention. Maybe it was because deep down inside, Draco had a feeling that Umbridge would know. She could go after Harry and Draco, punish them even worse this time for snitching on her preferred use of student punishment.

"Well, something to show you, really," Draco sighed as Ron turned his attention to them, as Hermione closed Charms of Defense and Deterrence after marking her page. Neither Ron nor Hermione said a word as they waited for Draco and Harry to go on.

The two boys extended their hands and simply showed their friends the injuries they had gotten from that night with Umbridge. Hermione gasped and covered her mouth before quickly standing up and rushing over to them.

"I thought I saw something odd last night," Ron began as he sat up on his knees, scooting over to kneel in front of Harry and Draco. "What the bloody hell is that? I must not tell lies..."

"I will not be a blood traitor?" Hermione recited, her eyes widening with horror. "Boys, who's done this to you? Oh my goodness, how long have you had these? Why didn't you show us earlier? Was it—Umbridge!" The name was spoken with such disgust, such hated, Draco was afraid that Hermione would explode.

Draco looked around the room quickly to see a few heads turned in their direction. "Be quiet, will you? No one can know about this," Draco spoke fast, his voice hushed.

"I thought you said she was giving you two lines?" Hermione questioned angrily.

Draco's head bowed grimly before he looked up and made eye contact with the girl. "Yeah, well..." Hermione seemed confused at first, but then her face turned to a look of horror once the information processed in her head. 

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "That bloody hag! She's mental, downright sick! Guys, you need to tell McGonagall about this! Harry, you've got to tell Dumbledore!"

"No, Ron, we can't go to McGonagall. Or Dumbledore. We don't know what else she can do, you know how insane she is!" Harry whisper-yelled to his friend.

"We can't give her the satisfaction of knowing she's gotten to us. It's better left unsaid, don't you think?" Draco added.

"NO!" Shouted both Ron and Hermione in unison, staring at their friends with wild looks of anger.

It was quiet between the four of them for quite a while. Crookshanks decided that he had enough of their company, and then jumped down off of Hermione's chair, wandering off to a different part of the Gryffindor common room. When nothing else was said, Draco stood up and made his way to the boys' dormitories. Thinking about his detention with Professor Umbridge and the nasty words permanently etched into his skin angered him, upset him, and negative feelings were not wanted now; he had an astronomy lesson with Lauren to look forward to.

Well, Draco thought to himself when he collapsed onto his bed for a quick nap. At least now they know.

•••

If you asked any student, any professor, any creature that lived inside of Hogwarts how they felt about a ghost named Peeves, they would answer with horrible, terrible, no-good comments and remarks. Peeves the Poltergeist was a rowdy spirit that lurked the corridors of Hogwarts, who was fond of mischief, humiliation, and taunting, especially toward the younger students and caretaker Argus Filch. Peeves played an annoying trick on eleven year old Draco during the Gryffindor's first year at Hogwarts. Draco had been running in the dungeons of the castle, lost and late to a potions lesson with Professor Snape, when Peeves dove through the air and stopped young Draco in his tracks. He then proceeded to tease the boy, spitting out nasty rhymes and making fun of him for being sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin, where he apparently belonged. And then, Peeves unleashed dozens upon dozens of paper birds onto Draco, chasing the students back down the corridor and making him even more late to his class with Professor Snape. Because of his tardiness, points were deducted from Gryffindor, and Draco had earned detention in the dungeons with his oh-so-favorite professor.

On many occasions, Draco had been there to help students get away from the poltergeist. In his third year, he backed up his dear friend Neville Longbottom when Peeves was threatening to destroy his Sopophorous plant, and just a year later, Draco defended a little first year Ravenclaw and her three friends as Peeves spat paper spit-balls down at them. Draco had hoped he wouldn't have to do such a thing ever again, but here he was, standing in the corridor that lead to the astronomy tower as Peeves flicked thick, blue ink at Lauren Andrews, Leda Sperry, Susan Bones, Veronica Jameson, and Faye Tollings.

"Andy Wandy and her dandy Hufflepuff dolts!" Peeves sang as he dipped his fingers into an inkwell. His ghost-like arms were full of them, holding onto as many empty and full inkwells as he could. "Going to stargaze, you bag of Bones?" He cackled and spun around happily throughout the air, splishing and sploshing gobs of ink as he went. The five girls beneath him shrieked in horror as their hair, robes, and skin became drenched in the dark stationary supply. Susan Bones' face reddened with anger as the poltergeist sang about her rudely.

"Peeves, you little devil!" Shouted Draco as he came down the corridor, Ron, Hermione, and Harry trailing behind him. He withdrew his Hawthorn wand from his robes. "How many times do I have to warn you about playing tricks on students? Leave those girls alone!"

Peeves instantly stopped his tormenting and stared down at Draco with a wide grin. "Oho! It's Little Lion Malfoy! SLITHER THIS WAY, SNAKE!" Peeves cried with laughter as he, once again, dove through the air, spinning and soaring toward the Gryffindor. "And he's brought Potty Wotty Potter! And Know-It-All Granger, and Weasleeeeeeee!" He screamed, flinging his inkwells at Draco and his friends. Hermione and Harry flinched and hid beneath their robes as Ron ran off to the side, sprinting away from the commotion. Draco sighed as he realized he would once again have to deal with this on his own.

"Now, now, Peeves, let the girls carry onto their astronomy lesson," Draco started, raising his wand up to the poltergeist. Peeves cackled and continued his assault on the Hufflepuff girls. By now, Lauren was soaked, the yellow of her robes a deep blue; one could have easily mistaken her for being a Ravenclaw. Draco found himself dashing over to her, where he was quickly able to shield Lauren from the hellfire. He quickly became wet and stained with the ink flying here and there as Lauren gripped his waist from behind.

Draco was tempted to use magic on Peeves, for the poltergeist didn't seem to want to give up with his taunting anytime soon. Did magic even work on ghosts? He had to admit that he paid little to no attention at all in his Post-Mortem Studies class during his third year, and had no idea whether or not casting a charm, hex, curse or jinx on Peeves would do any good at all. But he decided to give it a try.

Draco's left arm went around to grab onto Lauren, to hold her close in case the spell didn't work and Peeve's assault continued. But when he pointed his wand at Peeves and shouted the incantation, "Petrificus totalus!", the ghost froze up in mid-throw, and Peeves halted in his next attempt to fling any more ink at Lauren, Draco, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Lauren's Hufflepuff friends. Draco let out a loud breath, and the girls stopped shrieking. Lauren, who was still clinging onto Draco, shook against him as she laughed loudly.

"Really? You're really laughing right now? Right now?" Ron had emerged from his hiding spot in an alcove a few feet away, and Leda, Susan, Veronica, and Faye all began to look at themselves, determining just how much of a mess they had to clean up.

"Scourgify," Harry and Hermione said together as they pointed their wands at their robes. Before their eyes, the ink slowly began to disappear from their clothing. The group of Hufflepuff girls repeated the Scouring charm and sighed contently when they were once again clean. Peeves continued to float, paralyzed, above them all.

"What are you laughing for?" Draco asked, a large grin spreading across his face as he turned his head slightly, trying to get a look at the girl who continued to hang onto him. He felt Lauren's head rest against his back as she shook with contagious laughter. The air was filled with Lauren's laughs and Draco's quiet boyish giggles, and Hermione nudged Harry and Ron. Draco's friends then silently began walking down the corridor, finally making their way to their midnight astronomy lesson.

"That damn ghost!" Lauren snickered with a smile. She sounded angry, annoyed, yet continued to laugh even harder. Draco's heart swelled with happiness as it soon became only him and Lauren alone in the corridor. Leda, Susan, Faye, and Veronica had left with Hermione, Ron, and Harry, and Peeves' paralyzed spirit drifted away.

Draco nearly dropped his wand when Lauren squeezed her arms around his waist before pulling away from him. He turned, eyes bright with amusement as he watched the beautiful witch before him tuck her wet, inky hair behind her ears. "Oh Lord, isn't this just dreadful?" Lauren sighed and patted her robes. She then reached up and wiped her fingers across Draco's cheeks and jaw, trying to rid him of the ink stains, yet only making the mess worse. This time, Draco did drop his wand. It clattered onto the cold, stone floor of the corridor, and his cheeks heated up in embarassment. Lauren only laughed before bending over in front of him, picking it up, and handing it back to him.

"I like your wand. What kind is it?" She asked him curiously, looking down at it as Draco nervously twirled it between his fingers.

"Hawthorn wood with a unicorn-hair core," he spoke clearly, a small smile on his face. Lauren shoved her hand into her Hufflepuff robes pocket and retrieved her own wand, mumbling a quiet, yet firm, "Scourgify." Draco instantly felt his face, neck, and head tingling slightly as he was ridden of the terrible blue ink. "What about yours?" He questioned, raising his wand again and repeating the Scouring charm on Lauren. "Yours is quite pretty."

"Well, thank you," Lauren smiled. It was very light and very pale, and its color and shape held a wonderful and gentle beauty, not unlike its owner. The handle was decorated with swirls and subtle hints of plant vines that wrapped around elegantly, all of which slowly faded into the smoothness of the rest of the wand. "Mine is sycamore wood with a dragon-heartstring core," she replied with a smile, looking up at Draco as he completed the charm.

Feeling quite daring, Draco reached out after putting his wand away, and went to straighten out Lauren's yellow Hufflepuff tie. As he finished, Lauren took his left hand and frowned at the markings all across the back of it. Draco's heart nearly stopped beating in his chest, and he realized that stopping her from viewing the lines written there would be no good. He had promised he would tell Lauren about what happened, and she deserved to know the full truth.

Lauren's eyes softened as she read the words—I will not be a blood traitor—carved heinously into Draco's skin, and Draco swore that he sensed a look of sadness in her face. "You poor thing..." She mumbled quietly as she shook her head. "Who's done this to you, Draco? You can tell me, and I'll be sure whoever it was gets into loads of trouble."

Draco's mouth twitched up in a tiny smile at how caring and sweet the girl was to him. He knew that Lauren genuinely cared about him, and words could not describe how that fact actually made him feel.

Footsteps filled the corridor behind them, and Draco's head whipped around as he spotted small groups of both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students making their way toward them. It must had been getting closer to midnight, which meant that Lauren and Draco needed to head off to the Astronomy Tower soon; Professor Sinistra did not appreciate tardy students.

"How are you a blood traitor?" Lauren questioned again, shaking her head as she could not think of a reason for such a horrible sentence to be written into the back of Draco's hand. "How could anyone think something like that?" She was cut off suddenly when Draco gently hushed her as students passed by them slowly, eyeing the two of them up with curiosity.

"Come on, we should get to the Astronomy Tower," Draco slowly pulled his hand out of Lauren's grasp and sent her a smile. "Don't worry," he began when Lauren's frown deepened. "I told you I'd explain it in astronomy, didn't I?" Draco took Lauren's wrist and began to walk, gently tugging her down the corridor. Lauren sighed in defeat, but couldn't help a small smile from appearing on her lips.


	12. Catching Feelings

"SHE HAS THIS sick quill, it doesn't need or use any regular ink," Draco whispered quietly as he and Lauren sat at the edge of the Astronomy Tower, Draco's legs crossed Indian-style while Lauren sat modestly in her skirt, her legs together. Professor Aurora Sinistra spoke softly, dreamily from her place in front of the group of fifth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. She was well into her introduction to the students, speaking about her class rules and expectations of the course for the next nine months.

"Now, I hope each of you have in your possession a telescope, your star charts, and the textbooks needed for your fifth year astronomy course. These books include A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, The Essential Cosmic Perspective, and Star Lore: Myths, Legends, and Facts," the professor went on. "This year, we will begin to look more into the moons of our planets, and the constellations hidden within the vast skies of space."

"I'm listening," Lauren mumbled, reaching out and taking Draco's injured hand in hers, where she then rested it in her lap, inspecting it closely. Her heart clenched sadly at the messy handwriting fashioned into Draco's pale skin.

Draco leaned to his left slightly, scooting closer to Lauren until their legs pressed together. He swore he saw her lips twitch slightly, threatening to smile, but the girl easily suppressed it. "So... She told Harry and I to write lines," he began. "And we were confused, because Umbridge hadn't given either one of us any ink to use; she said that the quills were special." A student turned her head and gazed back at them, casting them a look and shushing them quietly—and what a shocker, it was his good old friend Hermione Granger—but Draco continued on with his explanation of his detention with Professor Umbridge. "As I began to write, the parchment she gave us turned red, as if I had been using red ink. But, obviously I hadn't been. I—"

"—She told you to write this?" Lauren cut in, lips set in a deep frown. "She called you a blood traitor?" Draco rolled his lips in between his teeth and hesitated before nodding slowly. "That horrible woman," she shook her head somberly. "You don't believe her, do you? That you're a blood traitor? You know you've done nothing wrong, please don't believe what she tells you, Draco..."

"Have you ever thought that maybe, quite possibly, that she's right? You've heard about my story, no doubt. I was the talk of the school in our first year, everyone knew who I was and what had happened to me. Even all of the muggle-born children quickly learned to become familiar with my name." Draco spoke quickly, his heart beating faster as he reminded himself of the hell he was put through, taunted by the Slytherin students, pushed away by his fellow Gryffindor housemates, and looked down upon by the rest of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw boys and girls. On multiple occasions, he swore that even the teachers looked at him funny.

Lauren let out a sigh and continued to hold his left hand in her lap, fingers tracing around the lines written into his skin. She was careful not to hurt him, and Draco actually thought it felt quite nice. "So what if you were sorted into Gryffindor? Honestly, screw those Slytherin halfwits, you're what, fifteen now? Sixteen? You became a Gryffindor when you were eleven. That was five years ago, and now look at what you've become." She looked up at Draco with a big smile. "Everyone adores you, Draco. I'll admit you were quite a royal git when I first heard of you, but you're different now. You saved Hermione and I from that darn troll on Halloween. Me and Hermione, a couple of muggle-born witches. And now you're best friends with them."

She was really going off on a tangent, Draco thought to himself. Lauren dove deep, hitting Draco where his feelings were strongest the most, and the boy appreciated just how sentimental she was getting.

"Excuse me, Miss Andrews," Professor Sinistra's voice cut through the quiet, midnight air, and Lauren instantly let go of Draco's hand, sitting up straight and paying attention to her teacher.

"Sorry, professor," she mumbled, and Sinistra gazed at her momentarily before turning back to the class and continuing to discuss this year's curriculum. Lauren turned back to Draco with a soft expression. "You are not a blood traitor, I don't care what anyone else says. You may continue," she whispered, just low enough for Draco to hear.

"Umbridge told us both what to write, and we did as she told us," went Draco, hugging his robes around his body as a cool breeze drifted around the Astronomy Tower. "It was only a few seconds before my hand started to burn. I looked down and it had started to get all red, and then I realized that as I was writing, the words began to carve into my skin." They both cringed, Lauren at the thought, and Draco as he relived what had happened to him. "She wouldn't let us stop, not even when we complained about the pain. She just made us keep going, then let us go when she thought that Harry and I had learned our lessons."

Lauren said nothing. Draco glanced over at her to see that she was staring up at the dark sky, gazing at the millions of tiny stars twinkling down at them all. Her expression was pained as she shook her head slightly, disgusted with the information Draco was giving her. For the rest of the class period, the pair said nothing, but Draco was perfectly okay with it. The silence was comforting, and neither one of them had to speak in order for Draco to know what they were both thinking. When their astronomy lesson came to an end, Lauren bid Draco a good night, and made her way to the Hufflepuff common room with Faye, Susan, Veronica, and Leda. Hermione, Draco, Ron and Harry disappeared to their dormitories, and Peeves the Poltergeist remained floating, paralyzed, down the corridors near the Astronomy Tower.

•••

"Draco, I'm not so sure about this, mate," Ron mumbled nervously as he slipped his old and tattered red and gold Quidditch getup over his head. He flattened his hair down before tugging the rest of the gear down to his waist.

The blonde sat on his bed impatiently, watching as Harry and Ron finished getting ready. Draco's legs bounced as he anxiously thought about the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts; it had been so long since he had flown and played, and right now, he was absolutely itching to get his fingers on a broomstick.

"You have one job Weasley, and that's to protect those rings with your life. You're fantastic when we play during the summer at the Burrow, what difference does today make?" Draco questioned and he heard Harry snicker, smirking at his red-headed friend.

"Luna Lovegood will be watching, that's the difference," he stated, grabbing his Quidditch gloves out of his trunk before shutting it with a loud thud.

"Excuse me, but Luna won't be the only one. Didn't you hear? The fifth year Hufflepuffs had a free period when we were in Defense. Apparently they've been at the stadium ever since then." Draco's heart leaped in his chest and he felt his face flush with color as Ron spoke. Lauren would be there, wouldn't she? His face was set with a smug smile as he imagined doing his drills in the air, showing off for her. "And there's no doubt a bunch of Slytherins will be making an appearance, as well," Ron finished gloomily.

Draco stood up after tying up his boots and followed Harry to the door, ushering over a high-strung Ron. "Screw 'em all," Draco shrugged and slapped his friend on the back. "You're making Keeper, and that's all that matters."

•••

The Hufflepuffs had in fact been occupying the Quidditch stadium stands for quite some time. Groups and clusters of students downed in black and yellow robes littered the rows, laughing and chatting happily as they waited for the Gryffindors to begin their drills. Here and there, a Ravenclaw sat, studying the field and its players with interest—of course, Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang were included. Hermione Granger sat with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, clapping quietly. And then there were the Slytherins, glaring at the students in red as they marched onto the field aimlessly, then, when spotted, running to the pile of broomsticks and eventually fighting over them.

Seraphina Slughorn stood, arms crossed over her chest, next to Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. Coming up behind them were Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, snickering and shaking their heads as they took in the scene before them. Down in the pitch, Angelina Johnson, this year's Gryffindor Quidditch captain, clapped her hands together and gave out a loud whistle. She began to speak to the students before her, all ranging from tiny, skinny seconds years who had barely stepped foot on a broom their entire lives, to tall and towering seventh years, both skilled and atrocious at the game of Quidditch. She first greeted everyone, thanking them all for coming and promising them a wonderful year of sports if they tried their hardest to make the team. Harry and Draco stood confidently, holding their broomsticks as Harry watched Angelina, paying attention to her. Draco, on the other hand, had his eyes skimming down the stadium stands, searching for Lauren. He eventually found her somewhere in the third row, elbows resting against her knees as she held her chin in her hands. Finding Draco in the mass of red Quidditch uniforms and broomsticks was effortless for Lauren, for his pale blonde hair stood out easily. Her lips twitched in a small smile as the two made eye contact, and Draco found himself sending her a tiny wave. Lauren's smile widened as she lifted her hand and returned it.

"Alright, Wealsey?!" Blaise Zabini's voice cut through the cool September afternoon air. "You look like you're about to drop dead!" His Slytherin friends roared with laughter, and Ron turned to Harry with fearful eyes.

"That's it, Harry. I'm done for," he whined, dropping his broom on the grass and holding his head in his hands. "I can't do this, I'll make a bloody fool out of myself—"

"First, I would like for us who know about the game of Quidditch and who have experience, to give those who do not a little example game. Now... Draco Malfoy, Dean Thomas, Ginny Weasley, you'll start us off by playing as our Chasers. Harry Potter, Seeker. Fred and George Weasley, will you be our Beaters? And let's see... Ron Weasley, you'll play the position as Keeper." Angelina smirked, throwing a glance at Fred and George, who both grinned and gave her two thumbs up.

Ron's complexion paled drastically as his face dropped. "What? What? Angelina, you aren't serious, are you? What bloody experience do I have? I—George, Fred, you arse—"

Draco wasn't there to listen to the rest of his friend's outburst. As soon as Angelina called his name, he mounted his broomstick and kicked off up into the sky, feeling the breeze blow through his hair. He smiled at the feeling of flying high above his classmates. It had been way too long, especially since he had been cooped up at Grimmauld Place for nearly the entire summer. When Angelina opened up the trunk containing the snitch, quaffle, and two bludgers, Dean, Harry, Ginny, Fred and George mounted their brooms and flew off to their rightful places in the air. Ron nervously followed in suit, nearly losing control of his broomstick immediately. Draco let out a breath and shook his head, praying to Merlin that his friend would not die today—especially not by playing Quidditch.

The seven players in the air demonstrated all of the rules and regulations of Quidditch, playing a calm and one-sided game. Ginny and Dean tossed the quaffle back an forth to each other as Fred and George hit bludgers toward each other. Harry chased the snitch around and around the field, and Ron missed block after block as Draco threw the quaffle through the rings. The Slytherins occupying the stands booed loudly each time Ron missed a goal, but Draco continued to shout at him to keep on playing, and to keep his eye on the quaffle.

After their demonstration game had finished, Angelina broke up the players into groups, having them fly around the Quidditch pitch, toss and catch quaffles, practice playing as Beaters, and to test their skills on catching the golden snitch. In the end, Angelina had sent away many players. As ther were only quite a few students left, Angelina decide to choose the next lineup for this year's Quidditch team right then and there. Fred and George Weasley held their positions as Beaters, with Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper as their replacements. Harry, once again, was named the Seeker, Ginny Weasley as his replacement. Draco was happy when he was given the position as Chaser along with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell, with Alicia Spinnet being a replacement—she was not happy. It had shocked the entire stadium when Angelina pulled Ron aside, informing him that he was going to be their next Keeper.

The students who had not heard their named called dropped their brooms and left the Quidditch pitch with angry glares, shaking their heads as they stalked away. By now, many of the students in the stands had made their way down onto the field. Luna Lovegood was the first person to approach Ron.

"Congratulations, Ron. Although, I can't seem to figure out why you've been made Keeper and not Cormac. You really were dreadful," she spoke dreamily, smiling up at the tall and lanky boy. Ron's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and his mouth dropped slightly. Draco, who was standing with Katie and Alicia, covered his mouth with his hand as he tried so very hard not to laugh.

"Luna," laughed Hermione, who had made her way into the center of the pitch. "That's not a very nice thing to say to someone."

Luna's eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head, a small giggle escaping her lips. "Oh! Oh, no, I meant no offense, Ron. It's okay, I can be a very clumsy person too, at times. Perfect people are boring, like Cormac. He truly is quite boring," she commented, giving Ron another hopeful smile. "Well, congratulations again, Ron. I hope you're going to be a great player." Luna grinned and reached out, patting Ron on his arm before turning and walking away.

Ron had yet to say anything. His mouth remained dropped as he stared after Luna while she walked away, eventually skipping off to catch up with Cho Chang. "Well, that went well, didn't it?" Harry smirked from behind his friend.

The lot began to converse about how their team tryouts went, but Draco ventured away, going off to find Lauren. He had started to lose hope, to think that Lauren and her friends had already left the stadium, but his faith was restored when he saw the brunette exiting one of the stairwells leading up to the stands. She stepped out and looked around, biting her lip in concentration as she searched for someone. When she spotted Draco, she began to make her way over to him. They two met half way, and Draco carefully set his broomstick down in the grass.

"I watched you play," Lauren began, looking up at the tall boy. "I mean, obviously I did. I was sitting up in the stands, I watched everyone play," she shook her head quickly in slight embarrassment. "What I meant to say is, you did very good. I didn't realize you were so talented on a broomstick," Lauren recovered herself, smiling.

"It's only my second year making the team," he began. "I would have played last year, but with the Triwizard Tournament and all..." Draco instantly thought that maybe he shouldn't have mentioned last year's events. He knew how it still made everyone feel, how much Cedric Diggory's death impacted the lives of all of the Hufflepuff students. He watched as Lauren's smile faltered slightly, but she quickly replaced it with an even bigger one.

"Well, I think you're magnificent," she told him with a genuine smile, one so warm and happy that it made Draco's heart swell in his chest. "I'll definitely be sure to make it to your games, even when Hufflepuff isn't playing."

Draco grinned and let out a little laugh, nodding. "That means I'll have to really step up my game this year." Draco could admit that he was an excellent Quidditch player, but now that he knew Lauren wanted to make it to his games... Let's just say he was going to be practicing even more, and trying even harder.

"How is your hand feeling today?" Lauren asked, reaching out and taking it in her own. She held it gently, and slowly began to remove his dragon skin glove. Draco winced and bit his lip as his skin began to sting, and Lauren let out a tiny, "I'm sorry." She inspected the back of his hand and frowned at the lines written, hoping that eventually they would go away so that Draco would not have to be reminded of his past each time he glanced down at it.

"Still hurts, yeah, but I think it's starting to heal up." Draco shrugged and watched Lauren carefully as she brushed her fingertips softly over his skin. "Would you like to fly with me?"

Lauren's head snapped up and she looked at Draco in confusion at his sudden change of topic. "I beg your pardon?" She laughed nervously and hesitantly let go of Draco's hand. Just a minute ago they were speaking about his excellent ability at playing Quidditch, then his hand, and now he was asking her to fly with him? Lauren bit her lip anxiously.

Had Draco asked the wrong question? He instantly regretted what he had said, assuming that from her reaction, maybe Lauren really wasn't the broomstick type. "It would be fun, don't you think? Or are you not into flying?" Draco asked slowly, watching the girl in front of him carefully.

Lauren gave him a tiny shrug. Yes, she had flown on a broomstick before, but she was unable to do it for fun during the summer. Of course, both her mother and father were muggles, and they live in the heart of London where they had no room to do such thing. Lauren kept her wizarding life quite separated from her muggle one. "I've only done it a few times here and there. To be quite honest, I can't exactly remember the last time I've flown," she told him truthfully.

At this, Draco grinned. Since he now knew that Lauren was not used to flying, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He stepped away from her and held his hand out before him, palm facing the grass which they stood on. His broom flew up into his grasp as he spoke no words, and Draco watched as Lauren's eyes narrowed slightly, a small smirk on her lips.

"We're really doing this? We're going flying?" Draco was now mounting his broom, hovering comfortably about three and a half feet off the ground.

"What, is someone scared? Come on, Andrews, you know you'll love it." His face was set in amusement as Lauren suddenly became flustered, looking around them. No one was there to watch them, for everyone had gone off and began to get ready for their dinner in the Great Hall. "I know you'll love it," he added voice softer as he whispered, smirking.

She stood there, just staring at him for what felt like minutes, before she sighed and threw her hands in the air, then stepped closer and began to mount the broom behind him. She let out a small scream when Draco purposely sent the broom flying upward a few inches, causing Lauren to wrap her arms around Draco's waist so tightly, he thought that she would break him.

"Draco Malfoy, don't you dare fly recklessly while I'm on this broomstick." Her voice was low and threatening, a hint of venom laced into her words, but he knew that it was all fun and jokes.

"I suggest you don't let go, Andrews," Draco spoke with a smirk, and Lauren instantly knew that this was not going to be a gentle, innocent little trip. Draco gripped his broom with one hand, while his scarred one went to Lauren's arms which were currently constricting Draco's body like the Devil's Snare. And then they were off.

The broom shot up suddenly, thirty, sixty, one hundred feet in the air, and Lauren gave a shrill scream of terror. The first time Draco had flown on a broom, he could admit that he was afraid for his life. But after minutes of practice, the act of flying became nearly natural to him. Within days of first riding a broom, Draco was soaring through the air effortlessly, like a daring bird swooping and gliding in the great sky above. Now, as he held onto the girl he cared and longed for, he felt just the same. There was not an ounce of anxiety in his body, not a pinch of fear that could have told him to stop, slow down, take your time! When Draco flew, he was calm, cool, collected, and felt as if nothing in the world could take him down—like nothing in the world could ever stop him from being him.

When he felt like the two of them were high enough, Draco dipped down slightly, before evening the broom out and taking off flying again, heading away from the Quidditch stadium. Lauren was a mixed up cauldron of emotions as she screamed and laughed with fear, and when she didn't speak, Draco became concerned.

"Are you alive back there?" He had to shout over the roaring of the wind against their faces and ears. Lauren gave his waist a firm squeeze and buried her face in his back, letting out a muffled, "I'm not quite sure about that right now, Malfoy!"

She felt him rumble with laughter against her, and suddenly Draco was leaning forward, dipping the front of the broomstick down once again, and they were falling, quickly, down down down into the Forbidden Forest. Lauren had managed to open her eyes, and once she did, she quickly regretted it. Her stomach turned in knots and flipped inside out as they headed straight for a grandiose pine tree.

"Draco!" She screamed, eyes widening with fear. He wasn't turning away from the tree, why wasn't he turning away from the tree? "Draco, move this goddamn broom!" His face, once again, was filled with such an amused expression, and he laughed happily at Lauren's fear. She was shaking him, hands gripping tightly onto the fabric of his Gryffindor Quidditch gear. They were flying closer, getting so much closer to wiping out as the great pine became even greater in their field of vision.

"Are you trying to kill us? Draco!"

At just the last moment, he pulled the broomstick up sharply, and they were once again flying straight up into the air. They had missed the tree by just a few mere inches. Lauren, whose heart was convincing her that it was completely stopped, was delivering smack after smack to Draco's arm, crying out in a mixture between laughter and anger. He grinned, continuing onward over the vast green forest which they were forbidden to enter. He had roamed it once while having a detention in his first year with Rubeus Hagrid, his dog Fang, and his current best friends, who, at the time, were not his friends at all.

Draco and Lauren continued to fly over the Forbidden Forest for quite some time before Draco made a slight turn and began to make his way back toward the Black Lake and Hogwarts. With the sky turning orange, pink, purple as the sun began to set, and the cool early autumn breeze whipping through their hair, Draco slowed the broom down, creating a calmer and steadier ride for him and the girl clinging onto him. He felt at peace here, as Lauren's grip loosened on his shirt, her hands now resting gently against his stomach, her head laying relaxed against his shoulder. He had never felt so content, so completely happy, so calm. He felt as if everything in the world were perfect, as if nothing could ever hurt him, damage him, tear him apart ever again. Because he was happy as could be, with Lauren.

"Can we do this often?" He heard a small voice behind him ask, and his lips twitched up in a small smile, his heart warming instantly.

"You're okay with this?" He questioned back, biting his bottom lip hopefully. To test out the waters, one of his hands rested against hers laying against his stomach, much like he did before when they first began flying. The difference, though, was that this touch was soft, gentle, tender, as compared to before when he grabbed her hands with the intention of calming Lauren down, letting her feel comfortable with the face that she wouldn't fall, just giving her something to hold onto. Yes, this really is a bold move, he thought to himself.

Lauren's heart and mind were filled with so many feelings as her and Draco flew slowly over the Black Lake, as she watched the Giant Squid's tentacles creep out of the dark lake, flailing and splashing up water, as if he were sending the two of them a happy wave. She was tranquil, so serenely happy as Draco took her on this wild-turned-unruffled broom ride. It struck her just how quickly the two were becoming friendly with each other. Since their first year, Lauren held a great amount of respect for him, after Draco turned up in the dungeons to save her and Hermione from the troll that Professor Quirrell let loose. Although they very occasionally spoke over their second, third, and fourth years, she always viewed him as a classmate she was fond of, never having a reason to have anything against him. She hadn't expected the two of them to become great friends this year, and she hadn't expected to care for him so much, in less than a week into their new school year. The fact didn't bother her, though. She was perfectly content.

"I'm more than okay with this," she replied confidently, nodding her head against Draco's shoulder, and the boy, once again, felt himself grinning as wide as ever.


	13. Butterbeer and Protean Charms

THE REMAINING WEEKS of September flew by quicker than a seeker chasing his beloved Golden Snitch. Cool summer days turned to chilly ones as the months changed, and the October weather had caused the Whomping Willow to begin to shed her leaves. She was beginning to turn bare, her bony, threatening limbs stretching out hauntingly over the castle grounds.

Things had unfortunately not been going well for the Defense Against Dark Arts students of Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge. It didn't just take Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Ron to come to the conclusion that Umbridge was a terrible teacher; Gryffindor was furious about their dreadful learning situation, as were Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, yet the three houses were ecstatic to observe their sister Slytherin house suffer just as much. Professor Umbridge had not yet allowed the class to practice defensive spells and incantations, but rather instructed them all to copy chapters and chapters of boring, useless, silly things onto parchment. The back of Draco's now scarred hand itched when he did so, wanting nothing more than to reach into his bag, retrieve his wand, and hex the ugly toad off the face of the planet. Maybe then she'd learn to stop being such a foul witch, no pun intended.

"You know," Lauren had started one Tuesday morning in late September. She sat with her legs crossed out in front of her, head leaning against the side of Draco's knee as he lazily lounged upon a stone bench out in the Clock Tower Courtyard. "Harry's been through hell and back ever since we first started school." Her fingers flicked through the pages of Flesh-Eating Trees of the World (a topic their Herbology class was still unfortunately covering) as she absentmindedly skimmed her eyes over the jumbled up words and pictures.

Draco let out a scoff, sliding his slender fingers around the knot of his tie and pulling, loosening the choke-hold the red and gold piece of fabric had on his neck. It was the end of the day, and the fifth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors had just gotten out of a much-dreaded Herbology lesson with Professor Sprout. "You don't say? That boy has seen everything under the sun and it's only the beginning of our fifth year," Draco replied as he crossed his arms comfortably over his chest. He glanced down at the girl who was resting against his leg and felt his lips twitch up in a small smile. Ever since Gryffindor's first Quidditch practice, the two teenagers were spending more and more time together. Lauren had even weaseled her way into Draco's small friend group of him, Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

"Which is why I have the greatest idea ever," said Lauren as she rose from the stone ground and turned to face her blonde friend. "If Umbitch isn't going to teach any of her classes useful defensive magic, then Harry should. We can form a group, set up a club, meet on certain days; Harry's single-handedly fought off dementors, Death-Eaters," and she added, very quietly, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Draco did think that this was the greatest idea ever. He could see it now: Harry Potter standing in front of the entire school, wand in hand as he and Draco stood dueling, ready to teach those willing to learn about the do's and don't's of using defensive and protective spells.

"Petrificus totalus!" Draco shouted, wand aimed at Harry with a smug smirk on his face. The spell almost hit Harry square in the chest before the scarred boy raised his own wand in a blocking motion, muttering the word "protego!" Draco's fired spell bounced off of the shield which Harry projected, and blue light ricocheted around the unfamiliar large room. Draco staggered back slightly.

"See what wonders defensive spells can do for you? Not only is the shielding charm a useful spell, but you also need to learn how to disarm one another. Draco?" Harry stood upright, looking back at his best friend. Draco smiled and glanced toward Lauren who stood to his right, before flicking his wand with a strong, "Expelliarmus!"

Harry Potter uttered the same words as Draco at the same time, and instead of Draco disarming Harry, Draco's own hawthorn wand flew out of his hand and into that of Harry.

"A word of advice to you all: when dueling another witch or wizard, always be the one to act faster."

In Draco's daydreams, Harry was always the better wizard, because, well, he was just Harry.

When Hermione and Ron were presented with the concept of Harry becoming the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Hermione was in complete agreement with Lauren. The two instantly ran off making their own plans, coming up with lessons and possible meeting places and times. Ron had laughed for quite a while, under the impression that Harry being their teacher was the biggest joke in the world. Until, Draco slapped him upside the head and hit him with a quick and annoyed, "silencio."

Draco wasn't prepared for Harry's reaction to the idea when him, Hermione, Ron and Lauren confronted him with it in a dark and dim corridor near Gryffindor tower.

"Harry, you're the best wizard in our year. Well, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, anyways. Definitely not in Divination, or Potions, or—" Hermione was cut off when Harry let out a sigh.

"Me? No I'm not, you've beaten me at every test we've ever taken—"

Draco cut in, shaking his head. "Yes, she has, but that's not what she means, Harry. You've done so much!"

"How do you mean?" Harry asked, confused. Lauren rubbed her head as she drank in her friend Harry's stupidity.

"First year you saved the Sorcerer's Stone from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Second year, you rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets and fought off Tom Riddle! And third year, oh wow, third year. You fought off just about a hundred dementors, all on your own. Don't you realize how impressive that is? To be able to conjure a full, corporeal Patronus at only thirteen years old?" Lauren blabbered, her lips moving almost too quickly for her words to come out. Harry was quiet, staring at her.

"And fourth year," Draco began, his voice nearly a whisper. "The Triwizard Tournament, all of those tasks, You-Know-Who—"

"Listen to me!" Harry nearly shouted, face red with sudden anger at the mention of the events that occurred last school year. "Please, just listen to me, alright? It sounds great when you sat it like that, but all that stuff was luck. I didn't even know what I was doing half the time, and I sure as hell didn't plan one bit of it. I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help. Hey, don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do. I was there, wasn't I? I know what went on. I did not get through any of that without any help, I didn't get through any of that because I was excellent at Defense Against the Dark Arts and protecting myself, I got through it all because I had help, all the time, I—"

Lauren, Hermione, Ron and Draco were stifling chuckles and giggles, and Harry finally exploded on them, the prominent veins protruding from his forehead and neck each time he got angry.

"You don't know what it's like! None of you, you've never had to face Voldemort." Hermione nearly whimpered. "It's just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, you think that's what it is? Like you're in class, or something? The entire time you know that there's nothing between you and dying except your own brain, like you can think completely straight when you know you're a mere second from being killed, tortured, watching your friends die... They've never taught us that in classes, and they never will. You don't know what it's like to deal with anything like that. When you're out there, facing You-Know-Who, it's just you, your wand, and trying to remember all the tiny little details our professors have told us over the years."

It was very quiet in the corridor. The fire from the basins hanging on the walls reflected off the students' faces, making their skin glow a dim orange. Lauren bit her lip and looked over at Draco, who was watching Harry with a passive facial expression.

"So teach us."

•••

So, during the first week of October, the first Saturday of the month, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Lauren made their way to the Hog's Head Inn, accompanied by Ginny, Fred, and George. The Weasley twins and their little sister were on board with the idea of Harry teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts right away, and went around inviting some of their closest friends to attend the meeting on this date, and at this location.

Draco and Lauren had discussed their bad feelings about the secret meetup today. Ever since the beginning of the school year, students seemed to like to verbally attack Harry for his claims of Voldemort being back. Draco was convinced that many people may not show up at all, while Lauren's fear was quiet different.

"What if everyone shows up and turns this into a free-for-all to bully Harry about Cedric and You-Know-Who? People are mean, Draco, and if too many people show up and cause a scene, then Umbridge will find out about our plans..." The Hufflepuff stuffed her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket as the group walked along the pathway to the very stingy, and very beat-up Hog's Head Inn.

Draco sighed and slung his arm loosely over Lauren's shoulders, letting it drape there casually, yet in a comforting manner. He had found it easier to touch the girl after their ride on his broomstick above the Black Lake after his first Quidditch practice. The brunette didn't seem to mind his physical gestures one bit; the fact sent butterflies erupting in Draco's stomach.

"Why do you expect the worst? No one is going to show up, Lauren, and Umbridge definitely isn't going to show up, either."

"Umbitch," the girl grumbled under her breath as they stepped into the Inn. Dozens of heads turned instantly, eyeing the teenagers who walked through the door.

Oh, how they were not expecting this sort of turn-out.

Students of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor scattered about the room, all sipping lazily on bottles and mugs of Butterbeer. At first, Draco thought they may have stepped into The Three Broomsticks out of simple habit, for this many Hogwarts students, if not any students at all, never occupied the Hog's Head Inn. The bartender to the side of the smelly, old room seemed to be just as shocked.

Fred and George smirked, Ron let out a surprised whistle, and Hermione turned a deep pink. "Oh, wow. Hi."

Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom sat together as the Patil twins stood of to their left. Ernie Macmillan, Katie Bell, Terry Boot, Cho Chang. Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner tapped on their table as Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbot exchanged glances. There were even more students, quite a few that Draco didn't even recognize at all. Lauren smiled to herself when she noticed her Ravenclaw friends, Leda Sperry, Veronica Jameson, Faye Tollings, and Susan Bones.

Harry, Ron, Draco, Hermione, and Lauren pushed their way to the front of the room while Fred and George hung back with their sister and friends. Hermione looked absolutely taken aback at the amount of students occupying the room, and Draco wondered if she was even going to speak at all. When she waited just a bit too long, he spoke up.

"Thanks for coming, everyone. Uh, well. All of us here are aware of how bloody terrible Professor Umbridge is at teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts... Am I right?" A nod, here and there, and a humming of agreement. Draco smiled. "I'm sure you all know Lauren Andrews?" He gestured to his friend. "Well, she kind of came up with this idea. An excellent one, actually."

The girl nodded and pressed her lips together before speaking up. "We need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. One who will really teach us the spells that we need to know in order to protect ourselves from the dark forces. I mean, we can't get by just from copying notes out of the chapters, now can we? I can't remember the last time we've actually learned something helpful, useful even, in class." She paused to glance around the room, and about thirty pairs of eyes stared back at her. Some with interest, some with boredom, an others with resentment. "So... that's why I think Harry should teach us. So that we can defend ourselves against You-Know-Who, now that he's back."

Multiple students scoffed and snickered, others shook their head in disgust. "What a load of rubbish. You actually believe him? You actually believe that You-Know-Who is back?"

Lauren's head whipped to the side as she eyed up her housemate, a Hufflepuff boy wrapped in a scarf. She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Dumbledore also believes that he's back, Zacharias."

"Yeah, only because Harry does."

"How insensitive could you possibly be?!" The entire room jumped slightly as Lauren raised her voice. "Do you not remember Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory who died in that damn maze during the Triwizard Tournament? You looked up to him, you idolized him. Everyone did. So for you to say that Harry's a liar, that You-Know-Who hasn't returned... You should be ashamed of yourself. Think of Cedric."

A pair of strong arms had wrapped themselves around Lauren's body, and she hadn't realized she was yelling and tense until she relaxed in those arms. Draco hushed her gently as the room watched them curiously.

"Look, this isn't what this meeting was supposed to be about. We just wanted to spread the idea, to decide how all of this was going to work out—"

Harry cut off Draco quietly. "I saw him. You-Know-Who. And yes, Dumbledore told the entire school about it, so if you don't believe him then you definitely don't believe me." When Zacharias Smith began to argue further, Harry shook his head dismissively. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, so if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out now."

"Harry can produce a corporeal patronus." Ron suddenly spoke up from his corner of the room, and many eyebrows lifted. "Yeah, he fought of, like, thousands of dementors in our third year, all on his own—"

"—Ron, it was nowhere near that many, seriously—"

"And that's not to mention all the tasks he had to get through during the Triwizard Tournament! Getting past dragons and merpeople and acromantulas and other things." It was Cho Chang who spoke up, and she flashed Harry a small smile.

It was quiet again as students exchanged looks, silently conversing over whether or not they should go along with this idea and let Harry teach them.

"I'm in," spoke Leda Sperry, and her Hufflepuff friends nodded along. Lauren, still situated in Draco's arms, grinned.

"Me, too," agreed Luna Lovegood. One after the other, all of the students in the room began to pledge their allegiance, agreeing with one another that this was, in fact, a great idea. That's when Hermione broke out the parchment and quill. A long line stood down the middle of the room, and each student took their turn signing off their name. Draco, Lauren, Hermione, Harry, and Ron signed last.

"Oh, Merlin! Don't leave, I almost forgot!" Hermione rummaged into her bag and retrieved a handful of Galleons. Draco eyes them curiously, and Hermione mumbled a tiny, "they're fake." "Now, I didn't think we'd be getting this many people to sign up, so..." She took out her wand and muttered a quiet incantation to multiply the coins, enough for everyone in the room. "These Galleons are fake, and I've made it so that when we decide when the first meeting is, your Galleons will warm up, and along the edge will be the time and location of where we're going to meet. Is that easy enough to understand?"

Each student took a coin as Zacharias Smith, as bitter as ever, asked, "How'll you do that?"

Hermione smirked. "A protean charm, of course."

Soon, the thirty-something students left, and it was only the five friends left in the Hog's Head. Lauren looked over the long list of names of students now in their secret group. What were they called? Were they supposed to come up with a name for themselves? This was a club, after all. A military of students, all eager to learn how to fight off the dark forces. An army. Draco and Ron's laughter filled the background as Lauren picked up the tattered quill and scribbled at the top: "Dumbledore's Army."


End file.
